The number of unemployed people in France jumped to the highest level for 14 years in October, the French Labour Ministry has announced. Data shows the number of registered job seekers in mainland France rose by 45,400 or 1.5% in October to 3.103 million people, accounting for 10.6% of the population. This is the highest … Continue reading
A new study has revealed that French Muslims of African descent are facing discrimination in the job market, with employers are favoring Christian applicants than their Muslim peers. “Without that information, it’s impossible to understand and fix situations where citizens are being discriminated against,” Stanford political science professor David Laitin was quoted as saying by … Continue reading
SFR, the French mobile-telephone unit of media and telecom group Vivendi SA , may cut 1,100 jobs as market conditions grew more difficult for the company after telecom firm Iliad ILIAF +2.62% launched a low-cost mobile-telephone service this year, newspaper Les Echos reports Monday citing a labor union official. The company, which is due to … Continue reading
Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), France’s No. 2 listed bank by value, is considering outsourcing 400 back-office jobs at its corporate and investment bank, according to internal memos seen by Reuters. The plan, in which consulting company Accenture (ACN.N) would take on staff working mainly in custody and securities services, could be extended to other businesses, such … Continue reading
When the economic shocks that cause recessions in different economies have large common components, there may be lessons to be learned by studying how different economies respond write Thomas F. Cooley, B. Ravikumar, and Peter Rupert in Bouncing Back from the Great Recession: The United States Versus Europe in Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Economic Synopses (Adapted … Continue reading
French consumers are being urged to choose products made in France as a patriotic response to the country’s economic travails. As part of a strategy to cut imports and boost national industry, the government is encouraging shoppers to read the label before they buy. “ ‘Made in France’ has never been so fashionable,” according to … Continue reading
Renault SA (RNO) says if President Francois Hollande wants more cars built in France, he needs to tackle the country’s high labor costs and rigid work rules. France’s second-largest carmaker, which is based near Paris and 15 percent owned by the government, built fewer than a quarter of the 2.83 million cars that rolled off … Continue reading
Vivendi SA (VIV) and STMicroelectronics SA (STM), each considering a reorganization to boost their competitiveness, face a hurdle as French President Francois Hollande struggles to keep an election pledge on job creation. Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg is today hosting STMicroelectronics Chairman Didier Lombard at Bercy, the sprawling 1980’s government complex in eastern Paris. The meeting … Continue reading
France’s industry ministry is pressing the country’s leading carmaker to limit the impact of a domestic restructuring set to claim 8,000 jobs – by shifting part of the cuts burden to Spain. Arnaud Montebourg, industrial renewal minister, was expected to raise the issue in talks on Thursday with PSA Peugeot Citroen chief executive Philippe Varin … Continue reading
Bank of France aiming to cut up to 2100 jobs in branches . . . http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/12/us-france-bankofrance-idUSBRE88B1DU20120912
France’s Socialist government may clinch a deal on labor reform by the end of this year but its cautious approach means the outcome may fall short of business leaders’ hopes for a “competitiveness shock” to revive the economy. President Francois Hollande wants a quick agreement that will help companies adjust more nimbly during economic downturns, … Continue reading
France’s unemployment rate rose to its highest level in 13 years in the second quarter, official data showed on Thursday, in a setback to the Socialist government, which was elected on a pledge to bring down the jobless rate. The rise in unemployment to 10.2 percent, measured according to the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) criteria, … Continue reading
Carrefour (CARR.PA: Quote), the world’s second-largest retailer, plans to cut up to 600 French jobs as its new boss slashes costs in a bid to turn the struggling company around, unions said on Wednesday. “The group told the various works councils that the plan is to cut 500-600 jobs,” Force Ouvriere union representative Michel Enguelz … Continue reading
“France is doing badly. The French economy is doing badly,” Sapin admitted on Tuesday. “The worsening of the employment situation will be longlasting but not eternal,” he continued. July’s unemployment figures saw the 15th consecutive month-on-month rise, by 1.4 per cent to 2,987,100, the highest since June 1999. The year-on-year rise is 8.5 per cent. … Continue reading
In July, after workers at French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen learned of company plans to close a plant in the suburbs of Paris, union leader Jean-Pierre Mercier went on the attack. Within hours he was calling for a “shock campaign” to force PSA Chief Executive Philippe Varin to keep the plant open. “We have the … Continue reading