French catering industry wants to work asylum seekers

paris - French catering entrepreneurs want the government to speed up asylum procedures and make it easier for them to find suitable staff among migrants. They have thousands of jobs on offer for which French employees are increasingly turning up their heads.

The trade union GNI-Synhorcat, which represents the interests of the café, restaurant and hotel business, says that some companies are slimming or adjusting the opening hours due to the shortage of manpower. Under current legislation, asylum seekers have to wait six months after they apply for refugee status before they can get started.

'It's frustrating. You have labor potential here, you have people who want to work but you can not hire them '', complained Alain Fontaine, owner of the Parisian bistro Le Mesturet who is jumping for staff that wants to make long hours for a separate fee.

France is struggling with unemployment of more than 9 percent. That is a headache dossier for President Emmanuel Macron, who has promised to drive the economy and create jobs with business-friendly reforms.