French Prime Minister Mr Jean-Pierre Raffarin vowed today to make the rules governing France's 35-hour work week more flexible but ruled out changing the law.
In a speech outlining his social and economic plans for 2005, Mr Raffarin also reaffirmed his commitment to cutting unemployment by 10 per cent in 2005, addressing a key concern of voters.
"I propose a new agreement on the working week, an agreement for choosing hours," Mr Raffarin said in a televised speech.
Workers and firms would be allowed to reach agreements on overtime, provided they remained within European Union directives, the conservative prime minister said.
The 35-hour week was introduced by the Socialist-led government that fell in 2002.
Mr Raffarin has to strike a balance between disgruntled employers, who say the law makes France less competitive, and unions who say the shorter working week is a prize right worth fighting for.
Mr Raffarin, whose speech was partly intended to boost his fading political fortunes, reiterated that he wants to cut unemployment which at 9.9 per cent is much higher than the euro zone average.