I agree in principle with standing up for your rights and if the numbers worked in France they may even have my ear, but the economy is rubbish and France does not work. Enterprise and competition are actively discouraged on so many levels, especially through employees rights. Time and again I see small businesses go to the wall after 3 years (when the tax kicks in) or established business that cannot afford to grow because they can't afford to take someone on because of the high social charges (the healthcare, education and infrastructure are fantastic and that's got to be paid for somehow) or because once you hire somebody they have so many rights and it's so difficult to let them go if you downsize it cripples businesses. I have two friends who've taken a year off, paid rather than lay them off and re-hire. Now that's lovely if you can get it and great to have strong employment protection, but when businesses countrywide are closing or stagnant because of it it defeats the object in a country that's got over 10% unemployment and growing. I can't get behind industrial action for that.