PARIS BURNING, ONCE AGAIN: Claire Berlinski:

…”It’s us they hurt,” added the second man. By this he meant immigrants and their children, particularly the residents of France’s suburban ghettos, where unemployment runs as high as 50 percent. And, of course, he was right, as everyone with even a rudimentary grasp of economics appreciates: If employers are unable to fire workers, they will be less likely to hire them. It is now almost impossible to fire an employee in France, a circumstance that disproportionately penalizes groups seen by employers as risky: minorities, inexperienced workers and those without elite educations, like the outraged man sitting beside me.

This is the second time in four months that France has been seized with violent protests. And in an important sense, these are counter-riots, since the goals of the privileged students conflict with those of the suburban rioters who took to the streets last November. The message of the suburban rioters: Things must change. The message of the students: Things must stay the same. In other words: Screw the immigrants.

The issue at stake is not, of course, the CPE, which in addition to being unknown in its effects would apply only to a two-year trial period, after which employees would still, effectively, be guaranteed jobs for life. The issue is fear of a real overhaul of France’s economically stifling labor laws. While some of the suburban hoodlums have joined in these protests — after all, a riot is a riot — it is clear that unless this overhaul proceeds, the immigrants are doomed. If so, last year’s violence will seem a lark compared with what is coming. …

…If the CPE is enacted, said one young woman, “You’ll get a job knowing that you’ve got to do every single thing they ask you to do because otherwise you may get sacked.”

more (via Hit & Run)