The CPE passes into law, but the Minister for Social Thingummies, Jean-Louis Borloo, says he is sending a letter today to all employers asking them not to use the CPE, so the request is official...
Whether it is Chirac who is asking Sarko to step in, or Sarko just moving into the vacuum, I'm not sure. At least Sarko has the legitimacy of heading the party that holds a majority in Parliament. That seems to be the last base left intact.
The 5th Republic Gaullist Circus plays on...
This is building up to be a major political confrontation, and the left could well capitalise on it if they are smart enough to support the movement without (being seen) trying to direct it too much. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
To me, that is why Chirac is pathetic. Not just because he undermines the concept of law or doesnt understand the importance of the people against him, but because he could have escaped by calling on a greater debate. He tried to see if people wanted a "Grenelle social" but forgot one thing: nobody under 50 knows what a grenelle social is. (big negociations during mai 68 when the unions got a lot of what they wanted) Basically, our ruling class is completely disconnected from everything. Rien n'est gratuit en ce bas monde. Tout s'expie, le bien comme le mal, se paie tot ou tard. Le bien c'est beaucoup plus cher, forcement. Celine
Chirac: "I'm promulgating because, if I don't, Villepin will resign and I'll be left all alone in a corner for the next year, but I'm not really promulgating because, if I do, there'll be twice as many protestors in the streets."
It is useful to get laws passed when you only have a relative majority, because instead of needing an absolute majority to get the law voted in, you need only to be able to deny that absolute majority to the opposition.
Of course, it can be abused as it was this time, to short circuit debate, but it is explicitly seen as an abuse, so, in essence, it works as an "exceptional" procedure. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
All part of the anti-Parliament, anti-parties line on which the constitution was written.
But, broadly, Parliament's powers need increasing relative to the presidency. The PM and major ministers should be deputies, not just presidential appointees.
I think really major changes would require a referendum.
See Wikipédia (French).
(Not a query concerning girth).
Particularly when it is "convention, custom and peer pressure" that is the main defense against abuse. As we've seen in the US and the UK a determined, media savvy government can run roughshod over such implicit restraints.
I don't even know if it would work legally, but it might in practise
Yeah, they said so, but it's pure bullshit: you don't need a form to sign a contract. Any employer can write one on plain paper, as usual. If it has the basic information on salary, working time... and if it's signed by the employee, it's legal.
"Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
