French politics Inglorious

France is going through one of its periodic binges of street protests. But this time it’s not just the French who will be hurting themselves, if student protests force the government to back down from its modest plan for labour reform. The government will lack the courage to implement any tough policies. And in its impotence, it will be increasingly tempted to pander to populist policies, like blocking bids for supposed national champions by foreigners. The proposed labour reform isn’t terribly...