Macron said his wide-ranging, pro-business reforms were “without precedent” in France’s postwar Fifth Republic. Macron’s changes to labour laws, which will affect all private sector workers in France, include a cap on payouts for unfair dismissals and greater freedom for employers to hire and fire. The latest day of protest this week saw far fewer demonstrators than last year’s vast protests against the Socialist president François Hollande’s previous effort to loosen labour laws. Macron’s critics have said his use of executive orders to push through the changes at record speed was monarchical. Macron’s use of executive decrees has allowed him to fast-track the new labour laws, avoiding the standard lengthy parliamentary procedure.

Source: The Guardian September 22, 2017 14:17 UTC