French Gov't Caves In; Immigrants, Economy to Suffer?

So our friend Jacques Chirac and his crony Dominique de Villepin cave in to the unions and protest-happy students and drop employment reforms that would have made it easier for employers to hire and fire new workers. Good news for France?

Hardly. First, a stagnant employment market keeps unemployment levels high. Why would you hire new workers if you'd have to keep them when going gets tough? Even more importantly, the current laws discriminate against immigrants in France, especially Muslims. Yes, the ones that were burning cars all over France a few months ago. One of the main problems: unemployment in some immigrant communities at around 50 percent. So these reforms would have given many of the poorest immigrants a chance to find employment. But then the unions stepped in. French immigrants on the losing end again. Not to mention the French economy.