In French Labor Overhaul, Union Leader Offers a Way to a Compromise<br />Scrawled near the entrance was a warning in red paint: “This treason must end!”<br />The “treason” referred to a contentious decision by Mr. Berger to support revisions to France’s 3,400-page labor<br />code — a rarity in a country known for stark divisions between union leaders and government officials.<br />By LIZ ALDERMANJUNE 20, 2017<br />PARIS — As thousands of workers last summer protested changes to France’s labor laws, Laurent<br />Berger, the head of one of the country’s most influential unions, got an unsettling call.<br />Amid Mr. Macron’s rise, Mr. Berger has sometimes painted his union as a moderating<br />influence in France’s labor movement at a crucial moment for the economy.<br />“Macron is good at talking to the unions, at giving them something,” said Philippe Aghion, an economics professor at Harvard<br />and at the prestigious Collège de France who mentored Mr. Macron as a student, and who advises him on labor policy.<br />Just weeks into his presidency, Mr. Macron has already summoned labor leaders — starting with Mr. Berger — for<br />marathon sessions to discuss overhaul plans, which will be fast-tracked through executive orders in summer.
