The French Government today, announced several far-reaching
changes that it says will go into effect within the next several years. This
announcement has caused a huge stir here in France resulting in retaliation
plans by several trade unions and government worker groups.
In an effort to conserve paper, the government will require
all it’s offices and subsidiaries to reduce required paperwork by half.
Ecologists have taken to the streets in celebration but paper companies have
threatened to shut down all importation until the law is repealed and The Copy
Machine Conglomerate is quickly organizing a group to begin talks with the
Sarkozy administration.
As an addendum to this new change, the government says it
has assembled a think tank group to devise a way for simple and necessary
information to be accessed by computer at all related government agencies. The
group is also being charged with the daunting task of devising an efficient
telephone answering system in all government offices in order to “prevent the
current practice of taking the phone off the hook”.
“Our government is paying millions of euros per year to
store the mounds of paper we have accumulated”, said one government official.
“And we have yet to find a way to locate any particular document when it becomes
necessary”.
In addition, a new program is being established that
requires all government workers to attend 2.5 hours of continuing education per
year in order to learn the art of pleasantry and smiling. This program will
replace the current CE program entitled “500 Alternative Ways to Actually Say
“Here is your copy. Do not lose this because we will lose all of ours.”
Government workers have put their foot down and plan a strike for the entire
month of September. An unnamed spokesperson said today, “this should extend our
already extensive August holiday by 4 weeks and with all that is now being
expected of us, we deserve it.”
