The evolving world of work : french overview

In France, the political and scientific debate about the labour market, the employment and unemployment is acute since some years. This is partly due to the higher level of unemployment than in other European countries. The question of the de-regulation/re-regulation of the labour market is on the agenda. And there is a debate about both the trend and the distribution of the risk of instability (section 1 and 2). Another high political debate is about working time. This is due to the changing regulation of the working time (35 hours laws) and the attempt of some firms and employers organisations to come back to a longer working time. It obscure the question of the part time work which is probably a major key issue for the employment risk and conditions (section 3). Wage inequalities are not increasing. The statutory minimum wage (SMIC) plays a strong role, with also a strong debate about the consequences on low skill/low wage employment (section 4). Regarding work organisation and health and safety at work (section 5 and 6) one can say that the working conditions are worsening. Despite some recent attempts to re-open the problem, both the social partners and the state do not play a very active part on the question. Again this is partly due to the high unemployment level on which public policies are more focused. This is less the case for the training policies, with an important reform in the recent years (section 7). If gender inequalities remain at a high level, the new models of employment and of family structure is tending towards a closer situation for men and women (section 8). Unions' representation and collective bargaining is probably a strong concern for the future, and does not provide, in the French case, a very optimistic perspective (section 9). At this step of the work, it is not easy to combine all the factors in order to define precisely the (new ?) risky categories of workers. Most of the analysis emphasize the fact that the new "precarious worker" is not only a question of employment conditions, but also of working conditions (section 10).