France finds itself in another fine mess

Rioting in France over the last couple weeks has been highly revealing.

Although Americans have long considered France a sophisticated model of progressiveness and enlightenment, today we can plainly see that's just not the case.

France is, in fact, a country teetering on a future of near hopelessness because of its heavy investment in socialist, nanny-state policies. And there are no apparent parties or national leaders on the horizon willing to ride to the rescue with reforms.

A modest reform proposal, after all, is what triggered the recent protests and riots among students and unemployed young people. In an effort to spur competition, investment and job creation, the proposal would have allowed employers to fire workers under age 26 within the first two years of employment without giving a reason.

Under current law, French companies are often unable to fire workers at all, unless they are facing bankruptcy or the worker has repeatedly made significant errors. And even then employers face long court battles in order to justify the firings.

It's easy to see how such stringent protections could have a chilling effect on the labor market, and that's just what has happened. Employers are hesitant to hire young untested workers because they may be stuck with them for life - like it or not. Add to that such other national fixed benefits as the 35-hour work week, longer maternity leaves, lengthy vacations and generous unemployment benefits, and it's easy to wonder just how much flexibility and investment incentives French business owners really have.

Such policies have created a vicious circle - France's job-protection racket is lurking behind the country's astounding 9.6 percent unemployment rate, and a lopsided 22 percent jobless rate among youths.

The rioters indeed have reasons to be restless, but one has to wonder why there isn't an overriding concern for the country's long-term socio-economic health.

Imagine the same situation in America: A youngster gets an entry level job and can't be fired, even if the kid turns out to be a worthless hooligan. While Americans would sympathize with the employer, there is a powerful streak of anti-capitalism engrained in French society that drives protesters to the streets at the slightest suggestion of infringement of the hooligan's "rights."

The irony of it all is that the country's preferred socialist policies are presumably intended to safeguard the common good, when it's abundantly clear that self-interest outweighs the country's long-term welfare. Who's going to pay for that short work week, three months of vacation and guaranteed lifetime employment? Who cares.

French farmers will maintain a death grip on their obscene subsidies. Unions and trade guilds won't budge from their powerful positions, and the country's young people will tragically oppose any reforms despite their consignment to the economic dust bin.

Just as predictably, French politicians are likely to continue with a track record of capitulation, because there are only the slightest shades of difference between the country's various political parties.

There's a lesson in this for Americans: France's enlightened policies should be avoided at all costs.