A far more generous interpretation would be that Wikipedia and the English internet are very far from comprehensive reports on non-English speaking countries. With a little more effort you could have found many more wrongful convictions in France that were even reported on in English ( http://www.medilljusticeproject.org/wrongful-convictions) and if you searched in French I am sure you would find even more.
You might find it easier to get agreement on "taking unpaid leave" rather than "reducing work hours and salary". It seems to fit into people's mental frameworks more easily.
Actually yes, the law being overturned said it was illegal to sleep in public places anywhere in the city. What kind of limitations on where people can sleep are you imagining?
If you learned to do them anyway, then perhaps it wouldn't have helped you. But my experience with friends and roommates has given plenty of examples where people didn't learn to do basic chores before leaving home, and it made their life significantly harder.
It's totally possible to learn to cook without ever ruining a meal. You start by working under supervision and doing prep tasks - a lot like the hierarchy in a professional kitchen.
Thats why airlines would have height limits - people who are not allowed on your airplane are not your customers and can't be injured by sitting in it.
In Washington state, a company has to give public advance notice if they will lay off more than a certain number of full time workers. That seems like it would have helped the Lionbridge workers here.