The French labour market is on the brink of a revolutionary change that could start delivering real benefits to the economy as early as 2009, according to Laurence Parisot, head of the country's powerful employers federation, Medef.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Parisot hailed the labour market reforms signed by unions and employer federations yesterday as historic and rejected criticisms that the deal does not go far enough to bring real change to France's flagging economy. Moreover, she argues, the accord marks a new era in France's often tortured labour relations, for decades characterised more by conflict than negotiation.