Angry workers taking to the streets in mass protests are not an uncommon sight in France. But this week, it’s the turn of the bosses to brave the cold December air in indignation at “policies that have suffocated businesses for the last 30 years”, reports FRANCE 24.
Around 4,000 employers marched in Paris, Marseille and Toulouse on Monday, according to police figures, kicking off a series of demonstrations calling for the deregulation of France’s economy.
Protesters in the French capital brandished signs saying “Free Our Businesses” and wore neon-yellow vests and construction helmets.
Organisers said 8,000 people had marched in coordinated rallies across the country.
It’s the first time French employers’ associations have taken their protests to the streets since the 35-hour working week was introduced in 2000.
Since then stringent employee regulations and ever-increasing employment taxes have, they say, hamstrung their enterprises.
“Business leaders are exasperated while their businesses are suffering in a very difficult economic situation,” said Jean-Eudes du Mesnil du Buisson, head of the CGPME association of small and medium-sized businesses.
Among their chief concerns are new compulsory payments covering severe working conditions such as night shifts – costing up to 600 euros per worker per year.