French economy minister takes aim at 35-hour week

France's new pro-business Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron ran into trouble with trade unions on Thursday for suggesting companies could be allowed exemptions to France's 35-hour week. Introduced by a previous Socialist-led government in 2000 in a bid to redistribute work and create jobs, the 35-hour week is fiercely protected by the French left - despite the fact that many French in reality work much longer hours than that. ‘We could authorise companies and sectors, provided there is a majority (union) agreement on this, to have exceptions to the rules on working time and remuneration,’ he said in an interview with weekly Le Point magazine. Such tweaks to the existing system would work, Macron said, because they ‘(do) not have a deflationary impact and could restore confidence’. The former investment banker's comments were made before his appointment on Tuesday, and the government was quick to stamp out speculation there could be a change in the law. ‘The government has no intention of going back on the legal length of the working week,’ said a statement from the office of Prime Minister Manuel Valls, which made clear companies are already allowed some flexibility within the overall framework, according to Reuters.