NationMaster - Encyclopedia: First Employment Contract

The contrat première embauche (CPE), translated first employment contract, was a new form of employment contract pushed in spring 2006 in France by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. This employment contract, available solely to employees under 26, would make it easier for the employer to fire employees by removing the need to provide provable reasons for dismissal for an initial period of two years, in exchange for some financial guarantees for employees. However, the enactment of the law establishing this contract was so unpopular that soon massive protests were held, mostly by young students, and the government had to rescind the law. Image File history File links 032806_francelaborprotests2. ... Image File history File links 032806_francelaborprotests2. ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Part of the Paris skyline with from left to right: Montparnasse Tower, Eiffel Tower, and in the background, towers of neighboring La DÃ©fense. ... Main entrance Gridiron bars The Jussieu Campus (Campus Universitaire de Jussieu) is a higher education campus located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. ... Dominique Marie FranÃ§ois RenÃ© Galouzeau de Villepin (born 14 November 1953 in Rabat, Morocco) simply known as Dominique de Villepin ( â€” , is a French diplomat and politician. ... Image File history File links Joe_20060402_0079_0001. ... Image File history File links Joe_20060402_0079_0001. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Prime Minister of France (Premier ministre de la France) is the functional head of the Cabinet of France. ... Dominique Marie FranÃ§ois RenÃ© Galouzeau de Villepin (born 14 November 1953 in Rabat, Morocco) simply known as Dominique de Villepin ( â€” , is a French diplomat and politician. ...

Legislative process

CPE was introduced by the Government as an amendment (n°3) to the "Statute on the Equality of Opportunities" law. This law was proposed by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin allegedly to tackle a 23% unemployment rate among the young [2], and also as a response to the civil unrest in October 2005. The reasoning of the government for introducing CPE was that unemployment was one of the major causes of lawlessness in poorer neighbourhoods, that workforce laws putting the burden of proof for valid reasons for dismissal on the employer discouraged hiring, especially of people with "risky" profiles, and thus that making dismissal easier would improve the employment prospects of such youngsters. Amendment may refer to: A change made to a law. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... Dominique Marie FranÃ§ois RenÃ© Galouzeau de Villepin (born 14 November 1953 in Rabat, Morocco) simply known as Dominique de Villepin ( â€” , is a French diplomat and politician. ... A torched car in Strasbourg, 5 November. ... In the common law, burden of proof is the obligation to prove allegations which are presented in a legal action. ...

The bill was examined by the French National Assembly between January 31 and February 9. The amendment was adopted by the Assembly around 2 AM on February 9, 2006, after much heated debate. On the same day, in the afternoon, Prime Minister de Villepin announced to the National Assembly that he invoked article 49-3 of the Constitution of France on that text; this meant that the law would be considered adopted in its current state, without being approved by the National Assembly, unless a motion of censure were adopted by the Assembly. Since Villepin's UMP party had an absolute majority in the Assembly, there was no chance that such a motion could be adopted. Predictably, a motion of censure was proposed by the left-wing opposition and was rejected by the Assembly on February 21. The Palais Bourbon, front The French National Assembly (French: AssemblÃ©e nationale) is one of the two houses of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. ... The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958, and has been amended 17 times, most recently on March 28, 2003. ...

The Law was then examined by the Senate between February 23 and March 5, at which date the Senate approved it. Since the texts from the Assembly and the Senate were different, and the law was deemed urgent by the Prime Minister, the bill was sent before a mixed Assembly/Senate commission charged with the drafting of a compromise text. The law was then adopted in March 8 by the Assembly, and in March 9 by the Senate.

Because opposition members of the Assembly and the Senate requested constitutional review of the text, the law was sent before the Constitutional Council. The Council considered the law constitutional, but made a number of reservations, on March 30. Those reservations impose guidelines under which the law was to be applied. A republican guard giving directions to visitors at the front entrance of the Constitutional Council The Constitutional Council (Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958. ...

Meanwhile, the law was disapproved by a sizable proportion of the French population. Massive street protests began, mostly by students from high schools and universities, and Prime Minister de Villepin's approval rate began to plummet.

The whole act was signed into law on March 31 by president Jacques Chirac. However, Chirac paradoxically asked for a delay of application of the law (which he is not constitutionally empowered to do), to allow the conservative Union for a Popular Majority (UMP) to prepare a new law modifying the "Statute on the Equality of Opportunities" law (changing, in particular, the two years "probationary period" to only one year). March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... Jacques RenÃ© Chirac (born November 29, 1932 in Paris) is a French politician and the current President of the French Republic. ... The Union for a Popular Movement, initially named the Union for a Presidential Majority, and in both cases also known by its French acronym UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire and Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle, respectively) is a French right-wing, conservative political party. ...

The student movement as well as all trade unions (including the CGT) and the Socialist Party asked not only for the suppression of the CPE but also of the CNE, a similar contract passed in November 2005 by the same government. On April 10, the government completely withdrew the law, and substituted for it fiscal incentives to firms employing young people. The ConfÃ©dÃ©ration GÃ©nÃ©rale du Travail (CGT or General Confederation of Work) is one of the five major French confederations of trade unions. ... The emblem of the French Socialist Party The Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste or PS), founded in 1969, is the main opposition party in France. ... Contrat nouvelle embauche (abbreviated to CNE, New Employment Contract aka New Recruitment Contract or sometimes New-job contract in English) is a new French job contract, proposed by prime minister Dominique de Villepin (UMP) and that came into force by ordinance on August 2, 2005 (that is, the measure was... Ongoing events â€¢ Abramoff-Reed gambling scandal â€¢ Al Jazeera bombing memo â€¢ Avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak â€¢ Black sites scandal â€¢ Conservative leadership race (UK) â€¢ Fuel prices â€¢ Irans nuclear program â€¢ Jilin chemical plant explosions â€¢ Kashmir earthquake â€¢ Malawi food crisis â€¢ Malaysian prisoner abuse scandal â€¢ New Delhi bombings investigation â€¢ Niger food crisis â€¢ North Indian cyclone... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ...

Controversy

The CPE sparked debates among the political classes, and drew massive protests from students in the streets of France, along with sudden strikes. Criticism was levied at both the substance of the CPE and the way it was enacted. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2605x2277, 1560 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Agitator First Employment Contract ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2605x2277, 1560 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Agitator First Employment Contract ... The Palais Bourbon, front The French National Assembly (French: AssemblÃ©e nationale) is one of the two houses of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. ...

Instead of putting the clauses creating CPE inside the bill it was proposing to Parliament, the government chose to submit it as an amendment of its own text. This bypasses some compulsory legal review by the Conseil d'État and reduces the time available for examination by members of the Parliament. Earlier in 2006, president of the Assembly Jean-Louis Debré, though a fellow member of UMP and an ally of Villepin, complained about the Villepin government submitting lengthy amendments of its own bills and said that it showed these bills were badly prepared.[3] Furthermore, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin forced approval of the law by the Assembly on its first reading by invoking article 49-3 of the Constitution: under 49-3, a bill is considered approved in its present state by the Assembly unless the Assembly chooses to dismiss the Prime Minister. Such a move hardly ever occurs, since both the Assembly and the Prime Minister are from the same majority. Use of 49-3 is seen as an infringement on the legislative prerogatives of Parliament and is thus reserved for exceptional cases. As many have pointed out, especially when the Prime Minister announced the use of 49-3, Dominique de Villepin has never run for elected office. In France, the Conseil dÃ‰tat (English: Council of State and sometimes Counsel of State) is an organ of the French national government. ... Jean-Louis DebrÃ© is a French politician. ...

Although the CPE is the primary target of the student movement against the law, other measures of the "Statute on the Equality of Opportunities" have also been contested. Among them, allowing apprenticeships from as young as 14 years old (allowing a youth to leave the standard public education system), night work from the age of 15 (instead of 16 now) and suspension of certain type of welfare measures (families with more than three children have the right to some governmental financial support in France) when students skip school. This last measure has been for a long time in the program of the far-right movement Front National, thus also explaining part of the popular protests. The most controversial part of this new law lies in the way it brings flexibility to employers: this contract allows French employers to fire workers under the age of 26 without juridical motive during the first two years of the contract, among other things. Apprenticeship is a traditional method, still popular in some countries, of training a new generation of skilled crafts practitioners. ... // Public education is education mandated for the children of the general public by the government, whether national, regional, or local, provided by an institution of civil government, and paid for, in whole or in part, by taxes. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Truancy (in Great Britain, colloquially known as bunking off, wagging, skiving or Mitching. ... Front National can mean: Front National, a right-wing French political party. ... Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... In classical economics and all micro-economics labour is one of three factors of production, the others being land and capital. ...

If the employee seeks juridical recourse against arbitrary firing, the burden of proof would be reversed. In an indefinite contract, the burden of proof was reversed during the probationary period, which lasted from just a few days to three months, depending on the type of job, requiring an employee seeking legal recourse to prove they were unjustly fired rather than the employer to prove just cause for the dismissal. In the common law, burden of proof is the obligation to prove allegations which are presented in a legal action. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Movie: Just Cause is a 1995 movie starring Blair Underwood, Ed Harris, and Sean Connery, among others. ...

Supporters

The CPE was officially designed to encourage employers to hire more employees under 26 by offering tax cuts and flexibility to employers [4], and was expected to offer young people access the job market that they have been desperately missing previously (One in four young people in France is unemployed, but the figure rises to 50% in the poor suburbs [5]). Unlike in more liberal employment environments, such as those of the US or the UK, firing an employee under long-term contract is made hard for French employers once the probation period (maximum 3 months) elapses. "Firing people is difficult and costly, this has made firms over the years more and more reluctant to take people on" [6] The aim of the CPE law was to break this reluctancy.

Supporters of the CPE believe it will reduce the high unemployment, particularly among poor youths. Employers, they contend, will be more willing to take chances with young employees if they are not constrained by France's job security laws. They claim that unemployment is partially caused by the restrictive labor laws which they believe have also helped keep economic growth at a low level by discouraging business foundation and expansion. [7] Softening the "rigid employment code" has been the motto of MEDEF and employers in general for years, and is considered by French liberals (those supporting free-market policies) a key way to help both economic growth and employment to come back. An 1837 political cartoon about unemployment in the United States. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Accumulated GDP growth for various countries. ... The Mouvement des Entreprises de France or MEDEF (in English: Movement of the French Enterprises) is the largest union of employers in France. ...

Critics

Critics of the law include all trade unions (evincing a rarely-found unanimity between the various politically oriented unions - CGT, CFDT, FO, CFTC, CGC-CGE...), many students (UNEF,...), all the left-wing political parties, and — to a lesser extent — some right-wing opponents, such as the moderately conservative Union for French Democracy (UDF), saying that the CPE will make it easier for employers to exert pressure on employees (lowering wages, sexual harassment, etc.) since they may dismiss their younger employees at any time, without any judicially contestable reason. Some opponents have dubbed it the "Kleenex contract", implying that the CPE allows employers to discard young people like facial tissue. According to them, the law will only encourage the working poor and precarity phenomena, and violates a requirement of French labor law introduced in 1973, as well as article 24 of the European social charter, which states that the employer must provide a motive for dismissal of employees. The ConfÃ©dÃ©ration GÃ©nÃ©rale du Travail (CGT or General Confederation of Work) is one of the five major French confederations of trade unions. ... The ConfÃ©dÃ©ration FranÃ§aise DÃ©mocratique du Travail (CFDT or French Democratic Confederation of Work) is one of the five major French confederations of trade unions. ... The ConfÃ©dÃ©ration GÃ©nÃ©rale du Travail - Force OuvriÃ¨re (CGT-FO or General Confederation of Work - Workers Force), generally known as Force OuvriÃ¨re (FO), is one of the five major French confederations of trade unions. ... The ConfÃ©dÃ©ration FranÃ§aise des Travailleurs ChrÃ©tiens (CFTC or French Confederation of Christian Workers) is one of the five major French confederations of trade unions. ... The ConfÃ©dÃ©ration FranÃ§aise de lEncadrement - ConfÃ©dÃ©ration GÃ©nÃ©rale des Cadres (French Confederation of Management - General Confederation of Executives CFE-CGC) is one of the five major French confederations of trade unions. ... The National Union of Students of France (Union Nationale des Etudiants de France or UNEF) is the main national students union in France. ... In politics, left-wing, the political left or simply the left are terms that refer to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of, to varying extents, socialism, green politics, anarchism, communism, social democracy, progressivism, American liberalism or social liberalism, and defined in contradistinction... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply The Right, are terms that refer to the segment of the political spectrum often associated with any of several strains of conservatism, the religious right, and areas of classical liberalism, or simply the opposite of left-wing politics. ... The Union for French Democracy, also known by its French acronym UDF (Union pour la DÃ©mocratie FranÃ§aise), is a French centrist political party. ... Sexual harassment is harassment or unwelcome attention of a sexual nature. ... Unfolded tissue below a Kleenex pack. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Working poor is a term used to describe individuals and families who maintain regular employment but remain in relative poverty due to low levels of pay and dependent expenses. ... Precarity is a very recent term used to refer to either intermittent work or, more generally, a confluence of intermittent work and precarious existence. ... The European Social Charter is a document signed by the members of the Council of Europe in Turin, 18 October 1961 in which they agreed to secure to their populations the social rights specified therein in order to improve their standard of living and their social well-being. ...

Sixty socialist deputies and sixty socialist senators have appealed against the law to the Constitutional Council; see below. The emblem of the French Socialist Party The Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste or PS), founded in 1969, is the main opposition party in France. ... A republican guard giving directions to visitors at the front entrance of the Constitutional Council The Constitutional Council (Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958. ...

Protests

The law has met heavy resistance from students, trade unions, and left-wing activists, sparking protests in February and March 2006 (and continuing into April) with hundreds of thousands of participants in over 180 cities and towns across France. On March 18, up to as many as 1.5 million demonstrated across France, over half of the country's 84 public universities were closed because of student blockades, and Bernard Thibault, the leader of the CGT, one of France's five major labor unions, suggested that a general strike across the country would occur if the law was not repealed. A big march was prepared for April 4, while students' organizations had already called for a general strike. The 2006 labor protests in France occurred throughout France during February, March, and April 2006 as a result of opposition to a measure set to deregulate labor. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. ... Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ... March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ... Bernard Thibault (center) marching at the head of a demonstration against the Contrat PremiÃ¨re Embauche (First Job Contract). ... The ConfÃ©dÃ©ration GÃ©nÃ©rale du Travail (CGT or General Confederation of Work) is one of the five major French confederations of trade unions. ... A general strike is a strike action by an entire labour force in a city, region or country. ... A repeal is the removal or reversal of a law. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ...

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3456x2304, 2716 KB) Manifestation anti-CPE Ã Paris le 18/03/2006 entre la place Denfert-Rochereau et la place de la Nation. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3456x2304, 2716 KB) Manifestation anti-CPE Ã Paris le 18/03/2006 entre la place Denfert-Rochereau et la place de la Nation. ... March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Strikes

Amid calls for a general strike, opponents agreed to a 'day of action' against the law, including strikes, demonstrations and university occupations across France on the 28 March to oppose this law. Strikes disrupted transport, public education and mail services while more than one million to three million marched against the law. The estimates vary; the police estimate in the lower one million range while the unions estimate much higher. ^[1] ^[2] On April 4, 700 000 demonstrated in Paris and three million in all of France. March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in leap years). ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... // Events Saint Adamnan convinces 51 kings to adopt CÃ¡in AdomnÃ¡in defining the relationship between women and priests. ...

Official response

On March 21, the Prime Minister was refusing to change tack, saying that "with this law, there are three things which are impossible. The first is its withdrawal, because that would mean that we are surrendering to the logic of ultimatums and prerequisites. This is obviously what our electorate does not want, and they would not forgive us for it. The second is its suspension, quite simply because that is against our Constitution. And the third is reworking the bill, because to lose its balance would be to deprive it of any chance for success." ^[3] March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). ...

On March 30, the Constitutional Council, the highest constitutional authority, validated most of the law, along with its 8th article instituting the First Employment Contract. The law was considered to abide by the Constitution of France; the Constitutional Council didn't pronounce on the question of conformity to international and european law, which he is not empowered to consider. The sixty Socialist deputies and sixty Socialist senators who had deposed the legal recourse before the Constitutional Council notably claimed that the law was against article 24 of the European social charter, which states that the employer must give a juridical motive before firing an employee, and against the International Labour Convention (n°158). Labor courts will have to create the jurisprudence concerning this point. ^[4] ^[5]. March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in leap years). ... A republican guard giving directions to visitors at the front entrance of the Constitutional Council The Constitutional Council (Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958. ... International law (also called public international law to distinguish from private international law, i. ... The European Union is unique among international organizations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. ... The European Social Charter is a document signed by the members of the Council of Europe in Turin, 18 October 1961 in which they agreed to secure to their populations the social rights specified therein in order to improve their standard of living and their social well-being. ... The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations to deal with labour issues. ...

On the evening of March 31, President Chirac announced in an address to the nation that he would promulgate the law, but asked the government at the same time to prepare a new law including two modifications: the trial period would be reduced to one year, and employers would now have to give a reason for the dismissal of the employment. However, Chirac did not specify whether this reason would be a juridical motive or a simple letter without any juridical value. He also asked employers not to start using the contract until these modifications came into force, but suggested no means of enforcement. Chirac's paradoxical call (officially promulgating the law while unofficially asking at the same time for its suspension) has only baffled both partisans and opponents of the text. The president's move was widely analyzed by the press as support for his prime minister Dominique de Villepin against probable contender for the 2007 election Nicolas Sarkozy, who is the leader of Chirac's political party, the UMP. Villepin had declared that he would have resigned had Chirac refused to promulgate the law. Some 2000 students were waiting on the Place de la Bastille for Chirac's address to the nation. After hearing it, they carried out a night demonstration, which collected as many as 6000 persons between the Hôtel de Ville and the Opéra. A few hundred demonstrators didn't quit until four in the morning ^[6]. March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... The President of the French Republic (French: PrÃ©sident de la RÃ©publique franÃ§aise) colloquially referred to as President of France, is Frances elected Head of State and also the ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the LÃ©gion dhonneur. ... Jacques RenÃ© Chirac (born November 29, 1932 in Paris) is a French politician and the current President of the French Republic. ... Look up Promulgation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul StÃ©phane SarkÃ¶zy de Nagy-Bocsa (born 28 January 1955 in Paris, 17th arrondissement), simply known as Nicolas Sarkozy ( â€” ), is a French politician, the second son of a Hungarian father, Paul SarkÃ¶zy de Nagy-Bocsa, and French mother, AndrÃ©e Mallah. ... The Union for a Popular Movement, initially named the Union for a Presidential Majority, and in both cases also known by its French acronym UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire and Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle, respectively) is a French right-wing, conservative political party. ... The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris, where the Bastille prison stood until it was stormed and subsequently torn down between July 14, 1789 and July 14, 1790 during the French Revolution; no vestige remains. ... In French, a hÃ´tel de ville or mairie is a town hall (and not a hotel). ... The foyer of Charles Garniers OpÃ©ra, Paris, opened 1875 Opera is an art form consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music. ...

Substitution

On April 10, the French government decided to withdraw the CPE and rewrite it by introducing new measures. This decision appears to be an about-face for Dominique de Villepin. [8] [9] April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ...

Notes

Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper with a circulation in 2002 of 389,200. ...

References

The Internationalist Review is an independent, non-profit e-journal founded on July 3 2006 in Maastricht, The Netherlands. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A jurist is a professional who studies, develops, applies or otherwise deals with the law. ... March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A jurist is a professional who studies, develops, applies or otherwise deals with the law. ... March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Contents

Legislative process

Controversy

Supporters

Critics

Protests

Strikes

Official response

Substitution

Notes

References

See also

External links

Contents

Legislative process GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Controversy

Supporters

Critics

Protests

Strikes

Official response

Substitution

Notes

References

See also

External links

Legislative process