French Protests on Labor Law

The news about the protests in France against the new youth labor law is garnering a lot of attention, although little of it explains the central concerns of labor unions and young people about the law.

I can't explain it yet either (check back in later, I will try to figure it out) but I am incredibly impressed that unions, which represent only 8% of the French workforce, have managed to turn out over 1 million people in street protests. I assume that French workers who are not unionized still understand their interests as being represented by unions, rather than by corporations, churches, or politicians.

But maybe I shouldn't be surprised. In Los Angeles, over half a million people, many of whom are undocumented and thus legally vulnerable, marched last Saturday against proposed immigration reform. And all week, thousands of students in So. Cal. have staged walk-outs and protests in response to the proposals.