As the UK's presidency of the European Union begins this week, Tony Blair has identified jobs, the environment and crime as the three issues which the people worry about most.

"Our joint mission is to make Europe work for the people: a Europe that is closer to the people's priorities....The focus for economic reform should be a social model based on improving the employability of the European workforce," said the British Prime Minister at the launch of the UK's presidency.

For the first of three reports on these issues, BBC Correspondent Mike Donkin has been to northern France, where the French Government has been implementing a rather different version of Labour's New Deal on Jobs.

This mill survives, but with one fifth the workforce

"Many people here thought they had work for life in the coalmines and steelworks which once dominated the north, and the textile factories which still crowd the Roubaix skyline," he says.

But since competition from abroad has closed most of the 200 mills, unemployment has been high. The number of long-term unemployed are in the tens of thousands.

Martine Aubry, Employment Minister and daughter of Jacques Delors, has been signing and outlining a radical Jobs Creation Charter for young people.

The plan, which Mike Donkin says will be closely watched by other European countries, involves imposing shorter hours to create jobs for more people.

Aubry: Tackling unemployment by reducing working hours

"France, like the rest of Europe, believes that the greatest priority is to deal with unemployment. It leads to such despair for so many young people," said Ms Aubry at the ceremony in Lilles.

"In an issue like this, each country has its own solutions. But the most important thing is that we're all working together."

But among industrialists there is open revolt at what they see as old-fashioned socialist meddling in the jobs market. They say governments should simply create the climate for business to generate employment.

"We're not at all happy. We believe they're wrong. When they say reducing working hours will create jobs, we say 'no, this will increase the taxes'. What will create jobs is our activity. Leave us the liberty to develop our companies," said one industrialist.

In his launch of the UK presidency of the EU, Tony Blair also advocated open competition rather than regulation, protectionism and "costs and burdens on business".

"There is a way between old-style state intervention and laissez-faire and we must take it," he said.

But according to Mike Donkin, the French government is ready to ride out the scepticism of industrialists.

"It believes it's showing the way on the issue that counts most in Europe. On jobs, it's putting the people first," says Mr Donkin.
 

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