Yes, yes, the cinetrix has until now said nothing about Quentin Tarantino, Cannes jury head. I was just biding my time, and now my patience has been rewarded: Labor Protests Threaten Cannes. Tout le monde waits with baited breath to see whether the man responsible for such memorable dialogue about tipping etiquette, the same man who did his time as an hourly wage counter jockey at Video Archives, will cross a picket line on the boardwalk. OK, maybe not. But it's more interesting than this year's list of films in competition.
For those not familiar with the particulars of this labor action, let's just say that it's pretty French. How French? Decide for yourselves.
The protesters want to revoke an agreement, reached in June by three unions and the national employers' association in France, that reduces unemployment benefits for about 100,000 self-employed artists and technicians. The employers said that an earlier agreement was being widely abused and cost them $1 billion a year. Two leftist unions, which refused to sign the deal, have been leading the protests. Before the June agreement, if employees worked 507 hours during a 12-month period they were guaranteed 12 months of unemployment benefits. Now they must work 507 hours in 11 months to earn 8 months of unemployment benefits.
I'm going to let Monsieur Rose field this one.
MR. PINK
I got two words for that: "Learn to fuckin' type." Cause if you're expecting me to help out with the rent, you're in for a big fuckin' surprise.
