steve you seem especially outraged. You even ask how the authorities got permission to act. Maybe that is a bit like asking who allows the police to arrest people?
You might take a different view if you had a contract drawn up via an employer for the purposes of ensuring you had minimal employement rights in the country where you were employed and little chance of protecting yourself legally.
And as for:
What is the difference between a french and british contract anyway? This is europe! nobody gives a c**p!
I can only say, "such innocence"!