Vive le joblessness

The Christian Science Monitor looks at the labor reforms in France:

One could brush the demonstrations aside as typical French protests - practically a rite of spring in la république. But they point to an overall resistance that will make economic and social reform that much harder in the future.

Each year of delayed reform will only prolong the sluggishness of the French economy and high joblessness. According to an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development index that measures restrictive job environments, French job inflexibility is nearly 15 times higher than in the US, where workers can expect to change jobs six times in their career. The US jobless rate is less than 5 percent, while in France it hovers near 10 percent.

Slow growth and high unemployment is not limited to France, and European countries are grappling with how to reform expensive social systems and restrictive labor practices without provoking unrest.

Meanwhile, violence is spreading among French students who must think they’re playing out Les Miserables.