Sarkozy party leader vows to end France's 35-hour week

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

The workers and the political left love it. The employees and the right loathe it. Few things in France have the power to divide like the country's maximum 35-hour working week.

Now, the pillar of French socialist ideology is set to mark the battleground for next year's presidential and general elections after the leader of Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling party called for it to be scrapped.

Unveiling the economic and social planks of the party's manifesto, Jean-François Copé, leader of the UMP party, told a party meeting: "We invite workers to work more and better … the 35 hours must no longer be taboo."

Earlier in a press interview he said that ending the 35 hours is "inescapable".

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/23/sarkozy-party-end-35-hour-week

[Vincardog]

1. Correct lower it to a maximum of 30 hours

[msongs]

2. workers will love working more hours? hmmm nt

[MADem]

3. We INVITE workers to work more an better? Yeah...right!

I don't blame the workers for liking those hours. I never had a job with that much free time. I sure would have enjoyed one, though.

[EC]

4. If they go for higher hours

will there be enough jobs? Raising hours will result in job loss for some when their jobs are eliminated, since people will be working longer hours to cover time that a separate employee may have been hired to cover.

If they are going for fewer hours, will there be an ajustment to wages to cover losses of income? I guess if there is an unemployment problem, this would cover that since someone has to cover the hours left when the worker fulfills their time.

[teddy51]

5. I suspect Sarkozy's chances of being reelected might drop substantially

with Jean-Franqois Cope's remarks.

[Roy Rolling]

6. TYPO?

shouldn't the sentence read "...employERS and the right loathe it" instead of "...employEES...loathe it"?

[left on green only]

15. Jeezzzz, I thought I was the only one

The article could have said so much, yet it ended up saying nothing, simply because the person(s) who wrote it didn't take the time to consider what it was they were trying to say, and how it would be perceived by people who might be interested in reading it, or even edit the piece of garbage for errors after they were finished excreting it from their most intelligent orifice. So what we have been left with is something that has been a complete waste of my time to have read. I still have no idea which side wants more hours and which side wants less hours. All I know is that the number 35 exists somewhere out in space. Way to go guys. You should join the election team of Michelle Bachmann. You would fit in so well.

On second thought, perhaps the article just lost all of its' meaning in the translation from French. You know, kind of like a Jerry Lewis movie.

[DaveJ]

7. In my experience, people who want to work more have horrible personal lives

Unbelievable. I always thought technology and automation would have us working less.
But politics is still forcing us to work more, and ultimately the goal is to enrich the 1%.

I've heard some people say they don't mind it at work because they are so miserable at home. That's their own problem -- don't take it out on the rest of us.

My wife and I have so many things we would like to accomplish, but can't because working for others takes all our time. We should reduce the work week in the U.S. Not raise it elsewhere. The problem is people who are so vacuous that they do nothing productive outside of work.

The more we work the less we accomplish.

[reggie the dog]

8. the UMP is fucked

the majority of people in france like only working 35 hours per week. the right attacks it saying it cuts our purchasing power, but they did a reform a few years ago which said you can do 4 extra hours a week as overtime, previously the 4 extra hours would have reduced the ammount of weeks you work per year. well most french people who work the extra 4 hours still turn it into more days off per year and didnt want the "overtime pay"

why?

our general attitude is "fuck work"

family and friends are much more important

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. Work to live, don't live to work.

Always had that philosophy.

People who don't have that philosophy are like those who hit the lottery but keep working their crap job because they wouldn't know what to do with their time if they didn't work.

Never understood that.

[MedicalAdmin]

11. Me neither.

If I hit the lottery I have a list a mile long of people and causes to help, places to visit, things to learn and experiences to have. I get suddenly rich my only problem will be what to choose first.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. I would actually keep my job...

if I one the lottery. Health insurance is expensive as hell. I might take a few extra unpaid vacations, but what the hell. Would probably get to retire eventually, too (with 401Ks and Wall Street trying to kill Social Security, I don't think retirement will be in my plans)

[nineteen50]

10. Great idea we should try it with our legislators.

[Kingofalldems]

12. What's next, ending child labor laws?

Oh wait, Newty already proposing that right here.

The right always goes after working people, never the 1%.

[christx30]

14. My boss

cut our hours. Now I work 32 hours a week. That hurts a lot. I have 3 days off, but I don't have enough money to do anything during those days off. If this keeps up I'm going to have to find a second job.
Working more should be voluntary. If you want to work more than 35 hours a week, then by all means find someone willing to give you the hours. But you shouldn't be legally prevented from doing so.