Mr. Montebourg's modest ambition is to transform the French political system: more accountability for politicians, legally binding term limits, an independent judiciary, a stronger Parliament and more referendums to put power in the hands of citizens.
US Secretary of State John Kerry made sure that the legally binding term "shall" was replaced with the weaker term "should" before the US signed.
The union "will continue to fight the sale, and without worthwhile and legally binding assurances on terms and conditions, strike action is inevitable," Dave Ward, the union's deputy general secretary, said on the organization's Web site.
Since Shepherd executed a carrier agreement, among other legally binding documents, the terms of the contract would control who is responsible for raising the child.
"Legally binding is a term that means many things to many people.
"[I feel we are] weeks away from being able to agree – longer for a legally binding contract – a term sheet [document outlining main points of the deal].
So the first challenge for a business is to ensure they have contract terms and conditions in place and also the proper means to make those terms legally binding for their client.
The UK Climate Change Act, passed in 2008 with cross-party support, is the world's first long-term, legally binding, national framework for reducing emissions – setting five-year carbon budgets to cut UK emissions by 80% by 2050.
The union said it wanted to forge a long-term, legally binding agreement that protected postal workers' job security, pay and pensions to avoid what it said could become a "race to the bottom" in employment terms.
Concern about the additional cost of renewable technologies has led to pressure within government, particularly from the Treasury, to boost gas generation - even though that could prevent the UK reaching its long-term, legally binding targets on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
