France's new labor minister to meet with unions

[November 15, 2010]  PARIS (AP) -- France's new labor minister pledged Monday to meet with union leaders after a national uproar over raising the retirement age, but a Cabinet reshuffling is expected to herald more spending cuts.

President Nicolas Sarkozy pulled together a new Cabinet on Sunday night with a strong conservative thrust that appears designed to boost the widely disliked president's chances for a second term in 2012.

Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand said on RTL radio Monday that he would hold talks with union leaders in the coming days, saying "dialogue is essential to success."

Strikers shut down fuel depots and blocked ports, and more than 1 million people marched in a series of protests this fall against raising the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62. The pension reform became law last week.

Bertrand replaces Eric Woerth, who saw through the painful pension reform -- but was also ensnared in a scandal involving the fortunes of Europe's richest woman, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

If Sarkozy's new government was hoping for a fresh start, nationwide protests by prison guards Monday served as a reminder that many French workers aren't ready to accept cuts without a fight.

Justice Minister Michel Mercier started his new job Monday as protesting guards blocked penitentiary headquarters in Marseille and unions called for protests at several other prisons. Finance Minister Christine Lagarde -- who kept her job in the reshuffle -- said Monday that she would work on overhauling the tax system and instituting "reforms to liberate the productive forces in our economy."

She said on France-Info radio that France, during its one-year leadership of the Group of 20 leading world economies that started last week, will work on a new financial governance "that gives more predictability and balance in currency relations."

The weekend changes left Sarkozy surrounded by allies and the old-guard right wing, a move aimed at pleasing his conservative ranks before 2012 presidential elections. Francois Fillon returned to the prime minister's job clearly strengthened.

[Associated Press]

Associated Press writer Jean-Marie Godard in Paris contributed to this report.

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