A team of inspectors from the Ministry of Jobs and Solidarity arrived promptly at 7pm and demanded to know why they were still at their desks. Alcatel is one of several prominent French companies raided by job inspectors in recent weeks as a part of a French plan to limit the working week to 35 hours. The inspectors have been seen photographing car license plates in company car parks, and have even started monitoring personal computers to check if employees are secretly working at home. The government says the 35-hr limit will force companies to create more jobs. French law calls for all companies with more than 20 staff to institute the 35-hour week by January 1st, 2000.
Smaller firms have two more years to comply.