Civil servant job perks trigger French Socialist row
http://www.france24.com/en/20150930-france-socialist-party-civil-servants-macron-valls-hollande-fonctionnaires
A banner reads ''civil servant pay, the figures don't add up'' during a protest against austerity measures on May 15, 2014 in Strasbourg, France
Civil servant job perks trigger French Socialist row
Latest update : 2015-09-30
What should have been a consensual reform to grant Frances civil servants their first pay rise in years turned into a bitter feud after the countrys free-speaking economy minister challenged their privileged status.
It was an all-too-familiar scene for observers of Frances Socialist government: a maverick minister blasting a symbol of the left, the French president implicitly disavowing him, and a second minister complaining bitterly that her colleague had trespassed on her domain and stirred upheaval in the process.
The maverick was Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker who has infuriated many in the Socialist camp with his business-friendly rhetoric and repeated digs at left-wing symbols, chief among them the 35-hour week. Last week he had a go at another taboo: reforming Frances gargantuan civil service.
In remarks made to the press, Macron claimed the status of Frances more than five million civil servants, which gives them near-total job security, was no longer adequate. He added: I dont see why some in my ministry should benefit from a guaranteed job for life while the head of a cyber security firm is on a temporary contract.