( AP ) -- French president Nicolas Sarkozy ordered talks with unions Tuesday to do away with coveted retirement privileges and proposed abolishing penalties against seniors who want to stay on the job, saying France's social system "discourages work."
In a sweeping speech on reforming labor rules, Sarkozy also proposed easing the requirements of France's 35-hour work week, saying people who work overtime should be offered the choice between extra payment or more time off.
Many French workers have continued to work 40-hour weeks since the law was passed in 1999, but are given several extra days off a year in compensation.
The conservative Sarkozy was elected in May on pledges to reinvigorate France's sluggish economy and break with antiquated practices that weigh down the country. He has said the shorter week has not created jobs as it was intended to do but that he would not abolish it.
Sarkozy asked Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand to open negotiations with unions to harmonize pensions among all civil servants, saying special privileges were too costly, outdated and unfair.
Employees of some state-run companies benefit from special retirement packages that date back to World War II or earlier. Train and bus drivers, for example, can retire with a state pension at age 50 instead of the standard 60, as can parliamentarians and employees of the Bank of France and the national theater.
Sarkozy also proposed prohibiting companies from forcing workers to retire at age 65, and he asked the government to repeal taxes and other measures that discourage seniors from staying on the job.
France's social system, Sarkozy said, "discourages work."
The president was entering into dangerous territory with his speech. A previous plan to trim special retirement packages for a swath of public employees prompted weeks of paralyzing strikes in 1995 that unions still point to as a warning.
Unions said Sarkozy was trying to push through too much reform too fast. Bernard Thibault, head of the powerful CGT union, called for protests on October 13, complaining that Sarkozy had embarked on a "mission impossible."
But the head of the main employers' group, Laurence Parisot, praised Sarkozy's proposals, saying they "redesigned the social model to live up to modern challenges."
Sarkozy portrayed himself as a leveling force who would bolster state coffers while distributing wealth more equitably. He argued that changing the system would leave room to help those with smaller pensions make ends meet.
He urged union to engage in constructive dialogue so that negotiations do not end in "sterile confrontations disconnected from what is real."
The president's speech coincided with the start of parliamentary debate on a bill to toughen immigration laws.
Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux said the government would consider a constitutional change that would open the way for quotas on immigrants. The bill is a step toward fulfilling Sarkozy's goal of increasing the proportion of skilled immigrants from seven percent to 50 percent.
"For many of our countrymen, immigration is a source of concern. They see a threat to their security, their jobs, their lifestyle," Hortefeux said in introducing his bill. "We must understand the ... hopes of this silent majority."
The bill would require a French language test for visa candidates and allow voluntary DNA tests to prove family ties with immigrants already in the country. Human rights groups have denounced the DNA tests, but the government says nearly a dozen other European countries use them to root out fraud.