France Abolishes 35-hour Work Week

In a perfect example of why market forces, rather than politicians, need to be the key drivers behind wages and workers, France announced the unthinkable: the abolishment of its sacred 35-hour workweek. The law was "supposed to" help curb France's unemployment problem, but as the article in Newsweek explains,

But with unemployment at 10 percent, politicians of all stripes acknowledge that the country's unique 35-hour law has failed in its original ambition: to force employers to hire massively. What's more, there are strong signs that it hurt living standards as employers froze salaries to make up for lost labor.

Despite massive protests from the socialists, France effectively restored the work week to the previous 39 hours. While France still has a very long way to go to bring down unemployment, this decision shows that the government is willing to change failed policies (something which our politicians could well learn from).

As blogger Light Seeking Light points out,

Socialism always looks good on paper -- so elegant, so rational, so scientific... that's why it appeals to intellectuals and bureaucrats. But then it comes into contact with the messiness of the real world and the wheels come off. You would think we would have learned by now.