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Article: France loosens 35-hour workweek
- Article from:
- AP Worldstream
- Article date:
- March 23, 2005
- Author:
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NATHALIE SCHUCK, Associated Press Writer
AP Worldstream
03-23-2005
Dateline: PARIS
After weeks of angry debate and street protests, French lawmakers effectively dismantled the country's 35-hour workweek by voting to allow employers to increase working hours.
In a final vote Tuesday, the National Assembly approved a government-backed bill permitting employers to negotiate deals with staff to increase working time by 220 hours a year in return for better pay.
The bill effectively clears the way for the gradual erosion of the 35-hour week, a flagship policy of the former Socialist-led government that gave many people more time off but added to concerns about France's declining global ...