French govt intends to replace La Poste chairman Martin Vial
The recently-elected rightwing French government plans to replace La Poste chairman Martin Vial before the expiration of his 5-year mandate in 2005, ostensibly because of his role in implementing the 35-hour workweek at the agency, according to the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche.
“It seems that it is not Vial’s closeness to the Left that poses a problem for the government, but his management of the move to the 35-hour week. The reduced working time apparently cost 400 mln eur in 2001,” the report said, without citing sources.
A new development project is about to be signed between the state and La Poste, as part of the liberalisation of the postal sector, the report added.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin reportedly prefers Jean-Paul Bailly, currently president of the Paris regional transport authority RATP, as a replacement for Vial, while other candidates include Jean-Frederice de Leusse, managing director at Credit Agricole, and Daniel Caille, former managing director at La Poste.
