Have the French Gone Too Far?

Conductors have been recently getting arrested in France for employing Eastern European musicians in orchestras on tour instead of hiring French musicians.

David Miller, conductor of the Bulgarian orchestra, was touring in France in February with the show "Don Giovanni." The French police came backstage and demanded to see the paperwork of every musician. They arrested the tour organizer on charges of "illegally importing workers to the country." The rest of the tour was cancelled in France.

Volker Hartung, conductor of Cologne New Philharmonic, was also employing some Eastern European musicians for his tour of "Bolero" and "Carmen." He was arrested in France for the second time for "underpaying his musicians and not obtaining proper authorization for them to perform in France."

The main reason for hiring Eastern European musicians for these tours is that it isn't as expensive. They are willing to work for less money than the French musicians, and therefore it doesn't put a lot of financial strain on the tour. France is upset because they feel that their musicians aren't being given enough jobs and they are being replaced by cheaper labor.