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January 19, 2000 2:14 PM, EST

PARIS — French truck drivers lifted a two-day blockade of the nation’s borders Jan. 13 after reaching an agreement with Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot on how to apply France’s 35-hour workweek law.

Gayssot agreed to extend the monthly work limit to between 208 and 220 hours, depending on the distances involved for truckers. He also agreed to cut oil tax bills for trucking companies to offset the added costs the industry faces in applying the shorter workweek.

“Work time in the truck industry is out of norm,” Gayssot said in a radio interview following a weekly cabinet meeting. “Drivers can work 280, sometimes 300 hours a month. From now on, it will be illegal to work more than 220 hours a month and overtime will be taken into account from the 35th work hour.”

Labor unions have called for a day of action on Jan. 31 to press their own claims concerning the law. The phasing in of a shorter workweek began on Jan. 1.

“It was time the government decided to face the realities of our profession,” said Patrice Cros, a spokesman for the National Freight Federation.

For the full story, see the Jan. 17 print edition of Transport Topics. .