法国人真有那么懒吗？

    泰勒没有预测未来的能力，而且也并不知晓这家规模是自己东家20倍的企业未来的计划，然而他的话却自有一番道理——法国在生产效率方面的确存在问题，特别是它的制造业。羸弱的欧洲经济已经大幅降低了法国工业品的市场需求，而该国的企业却成为了工会向政府要求权力的傀儡。

    例如，法国最大的汽车生产商标致雪铁龙（Peugeot Citroën）本月初刚刚公布了有史以来最大的一次年度亏损。它2012年的亏损额达到了50亿欧元（约合67.4亿美元）。2012年欧洲和法国汽车销量较一年前分别下降了9%和14%。为了调整生产规模和满足市场需求，标致试图关闭一些工厂，同时裁掉一部分工人。但工会将这家公司告上了法庭，从而成功地阻止了它管理紧缩计划的实施。标致获批减产，但在得到法院“首肯”之前，公司不能裁掉任何一名员工。

    标致的故事在法国已是家常便饭。的确，作为泰勒闹剧主角轮胎工厂的所有者，固特异销售亚眠工厂的原因在于公司的高级轮胎在低迷的法国市场上并不受欢迎。泰勒曾研究过收购该工厂的事宜，但工会要求他至少在7年之内不能裁员。这一点让泰勒大吃一惊。

    他说：“Titan公司有钱，也有制造轮胎的能力。相反，疯狂的工会有什么？”

    这些“疯狂的”工会有法国法律撑腰。即便固特异决定关闭工厂，但它也有义务不让所有的员工失业。因此，在固特异削减了工厂90%的产能之后，公司仍必须全额支付工人所有的工资和福利。这可能也解释了为什么泰勒去年访问工厂时，这些工人每天只工作3小时。同时，这可能也解释了他们为什么有底气像老板一样跟泰勒讨价还价。

    的确，在工业化国家中，法国拥有最强有力的劳工保护法。在经济合作与发展组织（OECD）的就业保护指数（employment protection index）中，法国排名直逼榜首。这个指数主要衡量发达国家雇主雇佣、解聘员工的难易程度。法国的分数是美国的3倍多，而美国在这个指数的排名中垫底，原因是它拥有有利于企业的劳动法。法国同时还超过了其工业竞争对手德国，以及经济问题重重的希腊和意大利。

    就为劳工市场计划提供公共支持而言，法国同样也能击败大多数工业国家；这种支持指的是，政府在帮助培训或支持失业工人方面的投入。经合组织发布的最新数据显示，2010年，法国在劳工市场计划的开销惊人地占到了GDP的2.6%。以慷慨的社会安全网著称的德国在劳工计划领域的开销也只占GDP的2.3%，而美国仅仅只有0.9%。

    然而，员工的难聘用和难解雇只是法国劳工体制的缺陷之一。小型企业尤其深受35小时法定劳动时间的伤害。这个法令迫使雇主为每周工作超过35小时的员工支付超时工资。结果，法国人工作的时间要比经合组织任何成员国的员工都要少。经合组织和法国劳动部门公布的最新数据显示，事实上，法国雇员在2011年的平均工作时间只有1,476小时。相比之下，美国工人每年的工作时间达到了1,704小时，比法国同僚多出了21%。

    Taylor doesn't have a crystal ball, nor does he have knowledge of the future plans of a rival that is 20 times his company's size, but he does have a point -- France has a problem when it comes to productivity, especially in its manufacturing sector. The weak European economy has decreased demand for French industrial products in a big way and its companies are being held hostage to unions that command great power with the government.

    For example, Peugeot Citroën, France's largest carmaker, just reported its biggest yearly loss ever earlier this month, shredding some 5 billion euros ($6.74 billion) in 2012. Car sales in Europe and France in 2012 were down 9% and 14%, respectively, from the previous year. Peugeot tried to close plants and lay off workers to adjust production levels to meet market demand, but its unions successfully stalled the implementation of the management's austerity plan by taking the car company to court. Peugeot was allowed to cut production, but it was not allowed to lay off any of its workers until the court gave it "permission."

    Peugeot's story is far from unique. Indeed, Goodyear, the owner of the tire plant at the center of the Taylor drama, put the Amiens plant on the block because it was having a hard time selling its premium tires to the depressed French market. Taylor looked into buying the plant, but the union insisted that he guarantee all of the workers' jobs for at least seven years. Taylor was shocked.

    "Titan is the one with the money and the talent to produce tires," he said. "What does the crazy union have?"

    The "crazy" unions had French law on their side. Even though Goodyear decided to close the plant it was obligated to keep all of its workers employed. So after it cut the plant's capacity by 90%, it still had to pay all of its workers their full salaries and benefits. That probably explains why they were only working three hours a day when Taylor visited the plant late last year. It is also probably explains why they felt they had the power to dictate terms to Taylor as if they were in the driver's seat.

    Indeed, France has one of the most protective labor laws in the industrialized world. It ranks near the top of the OECD's employment protection index, which measures how easy it is for employers in rich nations to hire and fire workers. France had a score that was more than three times higher than that of the U.S., which was at the very bottom of the list thanks to its business-friendly labor laws. France also outranked its industrial rival Germany, as well as economic basket cases Greece and Italy.

    France also beat out most industrial nations when it comes to public support for labor market programs; that is, how involved the government is in helping to train and support workers who are unemployed. It spent a whopping 2.6% of its GDP on labor market programs in 2010, accordingto the latest data available from the OECD. Germany, known for its generous social safety net, spent 2.3% of its GDP on labor programs, while the U.S. spent just 0.9%.

    But the difficulty in hiring and firing workers is just one defect of the French labor system. Small businesses are particularly hurt by the 35-hour law, which forces employers to pay their hourly workers overtime if they work more than 35 hours a week. As a result, the French work fewer hours than just about anybody in the OECD. In fact, the average French employee worked just 1,476 hours in 2011, according to the latest data available from the OECD and the French labor department. In contrast, workers in the U.S. rocked 1,704 hours per year, 21% more than their counterparts in France.