France and the United States are sometimes considered to be opposite ends of the regulations spectrum. The United States tends to adopt an outlook of deregulation and free market economics such as the concept of employment at will; while France concentrates on the protection of workers’ rights and on the implementation of a comprehensive labor and employment code.

To illustrate the differences, we look at the amount of ratified International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions. This is a metric that does not necessarily accurately define the level of provided protection or regulation of a country’s laws, but can shed some light on the relative amount and complexity of the [...]