The 35-hour workweek is a labour reform policy adopted in France in February 2000, under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government. Promoted by Minister of Labour Martine Aubry, it was adopted in two phases: the Aubry 1 law in June 1998 and the Aubry 2 law in January 2000. The previous legal working week was 39 hours, established by President François Mitterrand, also a member of the Socialist Party. The 35-hour working week had been on the Socialist Party's 1981 electoral program, titled 110 Propositions for France, but was not pursued because of the poor state of the economy.
Time worked after the standard legal limit of 35 hours is considered overtime. The reform's aim is primarily to lower the unemployment rate, then at a record high of 12.5%, by encouraging the creation of jobs with work sharing.
Objectives
The main stated objectives of the law were to create new jobs, by making it more cost effective to hire an additional worker than to pay current staff overtime, and the pursuit of decommodification of France's citizens, by lowering the amount of time dedicated to work without lowering their standard of living.
After being implemented, the Aubry reforms were credited with lowering unemployment and expanding the economy, although they have been met with legislative proposals for additional reforms.
Criticism
Businesses have overhead costs such as training, rent and employment taxes that do not adjust with operating hours. The expenses and higher wages cause the cost benefit of hiring an extra worker to go down, and raise the incremental cost of each additional worker.