Goodbye to la belle France? - The Guardian

[kskiska]

The French seem to have the perfect lifestyle: long lunches, short hours, great food and plenty of ooh-la-la. But their new president is determined to make them work harder, faster, more efficiently - just like the British and Americans. Merde alors, says Stuart Jeffries

It was perhaps the second glass of wine that did it. That, or the dessert of millefeuille aux poires. Or it could have been the blanquette, the bourguignon, the pot-au-feu or whatever Le Firmament in the Rue 4 Septembre in Paris's second arrondissement was offering as the day's special. Whatever. After lunch, I would stroll back to my office, shadowing my eyes from the 3.30pm sun, nod off at my desk over the lunchtime edition of Le Monde, to be awoken by my own snoring. Only then, with the proper morosité of a grumpy Frenchman, would I contemplate returning to work. Unless Nicolas from the economics agency across the courtyard came round and asked if I wanted to have a quick beer, which I often did. I had gone native: I didn't live to work, but worked to live. And live well.

France, when I worked there at the turn of the millennium, seemed a marvellous place. The Protestant work ethic had been refused a work permit and, if one occasionally had a sense that this decadence had something of the last days of the Roman Empire about it, no matter: this was the way to live. Certainly, if you were middle class and in a secure job, the country had it all. It remains substantially the same. There is still the 35-hour week, for a start, even if new president Nicolas Sarkozy has derided it as a "general catastrophe for the French economy".

There is something called making "le pont", which means that if a national holiday falls in the middle of the week, French workers will take off enough days before or after it to extend it all the way to the nearest weekend. Not since Edward Heath's three-day week have the British managed to work so little. And there is none of this American rubbish of two weeks' leave a year in France either: Paris, in particular, is massively depopulated from Bastille Day (July 14) until September as the French head off for at least two months of well-earned eating, drinking, romancing and dozing.

more…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,2075293,00.html

[wakeme2008]

1. If it wasn't France I would move in a second

:silly:

[Prophet 451]

2. I hope he's right

Barring the economic problems of high unemployment and a stagnant economy (both of which could be solved without anything as radical as Sarkozy is suggesting), the French seem largely to have got it right. I'm not a real big fan of the Protestant work ethic that both our nations suffer from and I absolutely loathe the outdated Puritan moralism which the US and (to a much lesser extent) the UK are still afflicted by. Decent public services, guarenteed state benefits and a culture where the pursuit of happiness, or at least pleasure, actually means something. Yes, taxes are higher than average but money is, in the end, merely a trade item and if you're getting decent value for your taxes, who cares?

The Atlantacists (the US and UK) speak a lot about the pursuit of happiness but it can't have escaped anyone's notice that both our cultures are really a cult which worships wealth. The French, as a generalisation, tend not to and (barring the aforementioned economic problems) seem to have evolved a near perfect society. OK, the US hates them but as a culture, the US is self-righteous and moralistic to the point of stupidity. The famous British tenacity often tends toward stubborness so we stick with our system even if it kills us. France's rich voted for becoming richer, quelle surprise but it's young seem to rather like the old place.

If I could master the French language or learn to tolerate the food (which I loathe for the most part), I might consider joining them.

[Iris]

4. excellent post! n/t

[MasonJar]

3. France is a marvelous country. The people are so ..well...French

and the food is divine and one can walk from the Lourve across town to the Eiffel Tower and not mind a bit. The Champs Elysee is perfection and the flowers and the lights. The countryside has fields of sunflowers and the towns are garlanded from top to bottom with colors from the ubiquitous flowers. And the incredible art and culture. The whole city of Paris is an icon. The French are so considerate when one can barely speak their language. Vive la France!

[illinoisprogressive]

5. I keep threatening to move in with my french relatives.