At the same time the Insee announced a decline of 0

Quantitatively zero-rated overtime success is undeniable. But in the current economic context of a rise in unemployment, it reflects a policy worthy of the Shadoks or Father Ubu. Risk of recession, the Government should instead return an emergency measure which aggravates the situation of employment.

The number of overtime hours reported 182 million in the second quarter of 2008 increased 6 from the first quarter of 2008 and almost half than the first quarter of 2007. At the time, the corresponding exemptions already cost 1.4 billion to social security on the first six months of the year, to which must be added the losses of tax revenue for the State budget. Is a total cost estimated at 4 billion in 2008 for the public finances by Christine Lagarde, almost half of the social security deficit this year. This policy benefits especially in large enterprises: 85 of the undertakings with more than 2,000 employees have resorted to this device against less than one third of companies with fewer than ten employees.

At the same time, the Insee announced a decline of 0.3 in the second quarter of 2008 GDP and the loss of more than 12,000 jobs in the competitive sector, for the first time since early 2004. With such a decline of 45,000 positions of interim, signs that the deterioration of employment is probably just beginning: If the activity has not declined more in the second quarter of 2008, it is because businesses boosted their stockpiles to height of 0.3 point of GDP, a trend which has no chance to continue. Productivity has declined by 0.5 in the French economy, at the same time indicating that companies have delayed the adjustment to a decline in their workforce. Side jobs, the worst is likely to come. Side unemployment, the last digits of the ANPE confirmed its rebound. The number of the unemployed in category 1 grew more than 50,000 people since last April. In addition, the Government wants 2009 to restrict the "long career" device, allowing employees more aged 56 who began work early to go to retirement before the age of 60. An initiative which should contribute to significantly aggravate the situation of the labour market insofar as it is largely the unexpected success of this device which explains the rapid decrease in unemployment in recent years.

In short, during periods of relatively rapid growth and falling unemployment, as was the case in 2007 when Nicolas Sarkozy became President of the Republic, it was already a strange policy to encourage businesses to do overtime for employees already in position rather than hire unemployed or young people leaving school with public money force. While with 8.5 of unemployed in July 2007, the France was always in the forefront of the unemployed in the Europe of twenty-seven, preceded only by the Greece, the Poland and the Slovakia... But today, it is simply surreal welcomed the continuation of the increase in the number of overtime. A small corner of table calculation illustrates the absurdity of such an approach in the current context: employment cost in 2007 41,000 euros on average in France. Instead of spending 4 billion euros with as a result of dissuade companies that could hire, the State could, with the same sum, fully fund 100,000 additional jobs or even, with a grant for a third of their cost, 300,000 more... If the public authorities should help people to "work more to earn more", which might challenge whether first the unemployed, whose number increased again, which must as a priority take advantage of this support

Christine Lagarde and Nicolas Sarkozy are of course responsible for neither the crisis in the sub-prime or rising oil and food prices. And therefore a fortiori from the recession that now threatens the France and Europe. But in a profoundly transformed context compared to summer 2007, he is not prohibited ranger ideology to the closet and show a bit of pragmatism. "Errare humanum est, perseverare diabolicum", said to be once.