French Labor Minister Muriel Penicaud, who Politico referred to as President Emmanuel Macron’s “Iron Fist”due to her tough bargaining approach toward labor unions, criticized the violent tactics of the Yellow Vest workers movement in a recent talk at NYU’s La Maison Francaise.
In the talk, which took place earlier this month, Penicaud outlined the ways in which the Macron government has been attempting to boost the French economy through rapid labor reform. These include simplifying the ponderous French labor code, providing workers with lifelong skills training opportunities and limiting certain benefits within the French welfare system.
These same reforms have come under fire from the Yellow Vest movement, an alliance of mainly low-income workers who have been protesting in the streets against President Macron’s policies. The movement formed in November in response to a proposed increase in taxes on diesel fuel. Since then, Yellow Vests across France have led weekly protests, many of which end in clashes with the French police, although recently numbers have been declining.
Penicaud, echoing the sentiments of many French citizens, said that the movement seems to have deviated from its initial goals. The remaining protesters, she said, are mostly violent individuals. “They don’t ask anything,” she said. “They just want to make trouble.”
She also pointed out that while many citizens say they want lower taxes, they are also in support of free healthcare and schooling, which make these taxes necessary. The Yellow Vests, she said, were responsible for bringing this debate to the forefront.
Despite being known her firm tactics, a key word for Penicaud is flexibility. She maintains that, in an era of globalization, both companies and workers need to be versatile. For companies, this means the ability to hire and fire more easily, while for workers, it is the ability to shift jobs and to acquire necessary skill sets.
Penicaud played a critical role in the Macron government’s efforts to strip down the French labor code, a tome of over 3,000 pages, which she accused of being “so rigid that companies were afraid to hire.” The government saw revising the code as a way to decrease unemployment and improve the economy — although some critics, particularly certain labor unions, have argued that the reforms favor companies at the expense of the workers.
Penicaud’s solution was “to make converts” of people through the unions. She did this through intense, lengthy negotiations with each of France’s five labor unions. As a result, the reforms passed with little pushback.
The Macron government has also proposed a series of vocational training measures, which include the per person allocation of 5,000-8,000 euro for training courses, an increase in apprenticeship opportunities and a five-year spending program to train one million jobless and one million dropouts.
“In a changing world, if you are not employed, then you are just a victim,” said Penicaud.
She believes this is particularly crucial in a world where artificial intelligence and climate change will soon render certain jobs obsolete. Opportunities for continuous training, she said, are “vital” in order for a citizen to be able to adapt.
“In a very free market, people should not depend only on their company to build a future,” she said. Her intention, she says, is to give workers the opportunity to be “actors” who have choices within the job market.
Some individuals still believe that Penicaud, who spent over twenty years working as an executive in two of France’s largest companies, is not in a position to advocate for the average laborer. Penicaud disagreed, arguing that her time working with “dropout kids,” as well as her corporate experience, give her the ability to comprehend two worlds.
“I have the experience of the top and the bottom,” she said, “I can assure you, everybody can bring something to society, I know it.”
She says that her number-one priority now is to lower youth unemployment; in France, one in every five people between the ages of 15 and 24 are unemployed. France is also preparing to host the G7 conference this August, where the focus will be on promoting equality by addressing climate change, the gender pay gap, and promoting fair trade and development.
Politico ranked Penicaud third on its 2018 list of 28 people shaping the European Union today.
Photo: French Labor Minister Penicaud discusses plans to revive the French economy. Credit: Emilia Otte.
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