France's Top Socialist Goes Rogue

Manuel Valls, the predicted Socialist nominee in France's 2012 presidential election is bucking his party's opposition to Sarkozy's labor reforms.

Manuel Valls, the predicted Socialist nominee in France’s 2012 presidential election, has thrust the debate surrounding the 35-hour workweek back into the national spotlight. To the delight of many right-wing officials, Valls has not taken the traditional Socialist position opposing Sarkozy’s loosening of the country’s stringent labor laws.

In fact, Valls agrees with Sarkozy’s campaign to entice French people “to work more to earn more” in the hopes of creating a more innovative, “harder working” French public. Most Socialists oppose Sarkozy’s overall strategy emphasizing the importance of individual workers being able to directly negotiate with their employers for overtime.  As per the French socialist tradition, the party has more faith in the negotiating capacity of the unions in expressing workers’ interests on a national level.

Since breaking with his party’s platform, Valls has been touted by the right as a “realist,” and “pragmatic reformist.”  Unsurprisingly, the left is less enthused, calling him everything short of a traitor.

Though Valls’ platform advocates a necessary reform of France’s debilitating labor laws, it is not difficult to understand why the Socialists feel so betrayed.  Holding onto the 35-hour workweek is the left’s attempt to salvage one of the few remaining Socialist policy legacies.

In 2000, the last Socialist government repealed the 39-hour workweek, capping maximum hours at 35, in an effort to protect French workers from a more international, competitive market, both within France, the Eurozone, and the broader global market.

According to left-wing moderate Valls, the 2000 Socialist reforms are irresponsible and backward.  In an interview with national French radio network, RTL, Valls insists that “[t]he world is changing fast, and it is the responsibility of the left to reconcile the French with this need for change. The 35-hour rule affects this country’s competitiveness and it needs to go.”

Most surprisingly, Valls not only drastically departs from his own party, but also accuses the right of not being reformative enough.  He proposes going even further than Sarko, advocating that the time cap be completely lifted in order to encourage employees to work longer for more money.

The divisive labor reforms have not only inspired increased partisanship, but violent riots, workers’ strikes, and an even more bifurcated Socialist party.  The long-divided Socialist party has yet to present a viable candidate for the presidency.  However, even the popular reformist hasn’t proved successful in unifying a left block that stands a chance of defeating Sarkozy, whose party – despite its low approval ratings – still maintains the Parliamentary majority.

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