French economy stifled by rules pegged to staff size

Paris

OF all the decisions that Dominique Goubault says have helped to keep his 117-year-old family business alive, one in particular raises eyebrows: limiting his staff numbers to 49 or fewer.

The CEO is among many bosses in France who won't hire a 50th worker, in order to avoid the subsequent obligation to run and pay for an in-house works council - something Mr Goubault says is costly, time-consuming, and "entirely useless".