Unemployed people in France went on strike today, refusing to cash their checks until the government increases benefits.
According to a report in Les Echos Enchaînés, thousands descended on the streets of Paris this morning to denounce capitalism and to protest their “inhumane” unemployment benefits, which average around €1,111 (U.S. $1,500) per month and last for at least two years.
The protesters blocked traffic for hours along several main thoroughfares while carrying signs reading “Unemployment is Slavery” and “George Bush: Hands Off My Money.” They are reportedly declining to cash their checks until the government at least doubles their monthly stipends and allows the unemployed to claim benefits for five years.
“I only receive €1200 a month in unemployment benefits” says Thibault Paresseux, an unemployed playwright from Nantes, “but I have rent payments. I have to buy food. I can’t afford to live my life like this.
“My best friend works for Monoprix and he just bought an Xbox. How am I supposed to afford an Xbox on €1200 a month? This is a human rights catastrophe. Our government should be ashamed of itself. ”
France has a very strong social safety net compared to other developed countries. Health care and higher education are almost entirely free and pensions are generous. The hourly minimum wage is €9.52 (nearly $13/hr).
Although such policies have successfully reduced income inequality, they have also led to massive taxation and the deterioration of the country's finances.
In addition, many argue that the state’s generosity has bred a sense of entitlement and a dependence on government that saps the country’s economic dynamism. The most prominent examples of this mentality are the frequent strikes by the country's highly-paid public sector workers.
Today’s strike appears to be the first by the unemployed, but organizers say it won’t be the last.
“The unemployed deserve so much more from the government,” says Bertrand Taffepas of the Confederation Française de Chomeurs (CFC), the country's union for people who are out of work. “We won’t stop until every unemployed person in this country gets a free automobile. I mean, how are people supposed to get to job interviews if they don’t have cars?”
