Debates over the "rights of man" and other such philosophical discussions have always been a part of the quintessential French existence, from the inception of modern France in 1789 to this very day.
While the French have grown almost accustomed to large-scale protests since the French Revolution, it seems that the frequency of these massive gatherings has increased in the last year as the public, and youths in particular, has become discontented on a number of counts.
The latest issue, an unpopular law by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin aimed at reducing unemployment from its steady nine to 10 percent clip, has struck a nerve with French students and employees.
Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets throughout the country, demanding the repeal of the new measure and calling for Villepin to resign. The protests virtually shut down France for the day, as major strikes hit schools, public transportation and numerous industries.
The new law tries to, in effect, increase the hiring of employees by making it much easier to fire them. If implemented, new employees under the age of 26 would have to go through a two-year probation period before they could reach the status of full-time worker. In addition, employers could fire such probationary workers on a whim, without giving any reasons for their dismissal.
Villepin, who rushed the law through the National Assembly without debate, defends his law on the basis that it will reduce youth unemployment, currently above 20 percent, and help prevent the same sort of violent riots that occurred last November.
Opponents say that the law is no solution, and simply offers up a new problem with which to contend. They are right, at least on the latter count. Villepin's law would create a situation where being a young employee would be tantamount to indentured servitude.
Employers would get whatever they needed from such probationary workers, and then be able to fire them before the two-year point to avoid providing full-time benefits.
While this outcome is clearly untenable, one can understand the motives behind Villepin's plan. Although job security is high under the status quo, employers are very reluctant to hire because the decision is virtually irrevocable.
With the current system, employers can only fire an employee if they prove that he or she is doing a bad job or cannot be kept on due to lack of funds. Even if dismissed, the employee has the right to appeal with the Conseil des Prud'hommes, which can reverse the decision.
Villepin's logic was simple: Make the prospect of hiring seem less permanent to employers, and unemployment will decrease. The idea was a step in the right direction, but the implementation was far too extreme. Obviously the French people are upset. As workers, they had previously been treated like tenured professors. Under the new system, young employees would be as expendable as interns.
A society cannot swing from one extreme to the other without civil unrest. But perhaps a happy medium exists. Perhaps the solution is not to allow employers to terminate the employment of young staff members at will, but rather to make it more difficult for employees to appeal their dismissals. That way, new workers would have a sense of security, but would not assume that they could coast along without a care.
Alternatively, the proposed probationary period could be made shorter and only applied to workers under the age of 24 - those just entering the job market.
Whatever change is implemented, it needs to be done quickly. Yesterday's strikes were peaceful for the most part, but the few violent skirmishes could easily develop into something greater. Villepin, or even President Jacques Chirac, must act now, because nobody wants to see the Paris streets ablaze again.
