• President Francois Hollande backed an agreement between French business leaders and three out of five national unions that gives employers more flexibility to reduce working time and salaries when the economy slows.
  • Negotiations between business leaders and unions wrapped up last night in Paris, with the CGT and FO refusing to offer their support.
  • “We hope this agreement will be ratified by parliament as soon as possible,” Laurence Parisot, head of the Medef business lobby, said in an e-mailed statement.

Not a done deal yet.