Damn The French 35 Hour Week!

What the heck is wrong with the French?
How can a 35 hour week be considered "Full Time"?

I live in france and fench people have a very strange idea of a full weeks work.

Seems like the whole country closes at around 7pm and takes a two hour lunch break so they can enjoy a restaurant/café meal (oh yeah, they CAN afford it!). Forget weekends for anything but big stores.
No petrol unless you have a fuel/credit card, and any store that is actually open has such a limited staff available that the queues are rediculous....they're all at lunch!

I know the euro is strong at the moment but if they don't pull their fingers out of their "derriéres", things are going to start going belly up and an influx of foreigners who ARE prepared to do the time will take over the daily needs of those of us who don't live in their secure little bubble. Just like the U.K.

Trying to break the stubborn ways of a country that has such strong traditionalist values is going to be tough...Sarkozy (newish priminister) will certainly have his work cut out. I am not a big fan of his but maybe, being the son of a hungarian immigrant, he will be of use after all and kick these lazy, overpaid, arrogant SOBs into realizing that they're actually not immune to things like redundancy or economic decline.

Some of the recent headlines I've seen are already urging the french: "if you want to earn more, work more!". Bleedin' obvious to most of us I'm sure.

I've never had a full time job that was less than about 47 hours a week, and then there's overtime etc and I thought that was easy.

Last year I was renovating my roof (v big, much work) and was doing an average of 70 hours a week, and working 7 days of it too while not getting paid a centime for it, having to stop work to get supplies before everything shuts and then carrying on in the evening, not sitting in some plush office or store and keeping fellow workers unnecessarily employed by working as slowly as possible and shuffling paper from department to department and chatting..bloody bureaucratic"jobsworths".

Call me cynical, but how many of you would say 35 hours a week is "PART TIME"!

Cut wages, Increase the hours, Get efficient or get prepared for your oncoming recession you lazy lot.

"VIVE LA REVOLUTION" might just bite them in the ASS.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! :bash::bnghd:

a 35 hour week..!! with enough money to eat out every night....

life at a leisurely pace to enjoy wine and good company...

what are these frenchies playing at..??

Mon Dieu..!! they must be crazy.

i suggest you get outta there fast mate, before you start wearing a silly

hat, riding a bike, shouting onions! onions! who will buy my onions in a

silly voice.

60+ hours a week and retirement at 70, that's the life

we should all be striving for.



[edit on 7-5-2008 by callmedave]

Pardon Me, I don't know where you moved from, but I can tell you one thing I miss (the only one), since I moved from the northern part of Europe, are my labor rights.
A 37 hour work week and decent pay now seems like a dream, I didn't appreciate it enough.

I was safe and sound never had to worry, the machine worked.
The US is far behind in treating their work force decently. I would estimate, 40-50 years.

Pamper your employees and they will do their best.

In the US they are considered "gun-fodder", Sorry.
Enjoy Friend.
WIS

reply to post by WalkInSilence


but it is the labour rights that are causing these problems...labour rights that are outdated and need to be re-addressed.

If the workforce of this country doesn't move with the times, how can they compete in an ever-changing economic climate?

And the workforce has been pampered FAR too long!
That is the problem Sarkozy is trying to address.

[edit on 7/5/2008 by nerbot]

but it is the labour rights that are causing these problems...labour rights that are outdated and need to be re-addressed.

It's only a problem for big business that doesn't give a hoot about YOU! It's all about the profits, damn the workers.

35 hour work week which gives a livable wage? It means you'd have time to raise your kids, know your neighbors, and have leisurely lunches with your friends.

You must really hate the Month of May which is traditionally a very work shy month for the French.

I work to live not live to work.

Originally posted by Merigold
It's only a problem for big business that doesn't give a hoot about YOU! It's all about the profits, damn the workers.

How does this only affect big business?

35 hour work week which gives a livable wage? It means you'd have time to raise your kids, know your neighbors, and have leisurely lunches with your friends.

It's great they have the opportunity to do so NOW, but how long will it last before someone else is prepared to do what they are not and for less money! How can they "grumble" when they become more "expendable" and lose those privaleges due to competition?

You must really hate the Month of May which is traditionally a very work shy month for the French.

I don't hate the month of May at all, but now you mention it, doesn't it sound a little daft...lots of people having holidays at the same time! Great for an "Island mentality" maybe.

I work to live not live to work.

But if they lose that work or are not prepared to work more to keep up with inflation, how do they live, how do they afford to pay for their kids, the wonderful social lives and the nice meals. And when I was talking about "café" meals, I was referring to the long "lunches", not dinners.
How many of you can afford a nice meal at lunch in a restaurant or café, 5 days a week?

With the price of fuel and food etc going up almost daily, where will that extra money come from to keep it a "livable wage" unless they put in more hours? Yes they could demand more money but where does it come from?
Isn't it relative...it's not just big business that puts it's prices up you know. The french may be good at growing things but money isn't one of them.

This is not the UK and we don't have the widespread 24 hour infrastructure that some other countries have. Infrastructures that have developed from workers who will work when it is needed, not just when they want and only for themselves.

Are you saying that france should just carry on it's merry way and not worry about the world outside....cater just for themselves. Remember that next time you cruise through "ghost towns" at 7pm, run out of petrol and get hungry or need something important.

I suppose it comes down to the simple things in life...a loaf of bread, a bottle of gas so you can cook or a plumber to fix a leak. We learn to plan ahead, it's the only way.

Typical example: "general" builders are few and far between and usually non-french, you must employ a stonemason, a plumber, an electrician, a plasterer, a tiler, a roofer, etc, etc. None of whom will get involved in anothers "trade" and each is registered and insured for limited tasks (beuraucratic beyond belief!). Each of them will provide a seperate quote IF they keep an appointment, and they will charge as much as they think possible.
A lot of them are "micro-enterprise" individuals (self employed) and are permitted to earn a maximum of around 27,000 euros per year before going into a higher tax bracket. If he/she can earn that money in 6 months, why would they bother working the other 6 months? Unless of course they work "on the black" for cash in hand which seems to be the norm
This also creates a rediculous demand for their services which in turn helps the self perpetuating assurance of employment......but how long can this last...how long before someone is prepared to work 10% longer for 10% less and when they are needed?

Charge as much as possible and work as little as possible. And if they ALL do it, what choice is there for the consumer but to accept the fees and where is the competitive drive within the marketplace?

How long before they have competition from non-french people coming to france. Is this all part of a big plan to cause immigration problems and revolution...... perhaps. I just think frances traditionalist ways, although respectful from a social point of view, will become a problem in the years to come regarding the economy and the general standard of living.

They still live by the church clock in most places....tractors stopped in the middle of fields and the like!

Quality of Life in France

Doesn't that just say it all?

My paycheck doesn't determin my quality of life in that the more I make the happier I am.

I don't need 24 hour shopping and 9-5 stress in order define my life.

I want to rasie my children ( when I have some), enjoy life, drink in every bit of leisure that I can before my millisecond of exsistance is over.

Call me selfish, but it seems to work for the French.

Now, you'll tell me all about the riots and the civil unrest which happens in Paris mainly. The French are not multicultural, if you come to France, you are expected to integrate. The unrest happens mainly in immigrant communites who are unwilling to integrate and then want to complain about how they can't access services as the French do.

Anyway...How the heck did the US get to be number three? * ducks*

Originally posted by Merigold

My paycheck doesn't determin my quality of life in that the more I make the happier I am.

I don't need 24 hour shopping and 9-5 stress in order define my life.

Absolutely agree with you, the best things in life are free (for now) that's why I'm here...and I don't even have a paycheck. I'm not a scrounger either, just doing what I enjoy and what I can with what I got from selling up in the UK.

I also agree that 24 hour shopping is something france doesn't need, maybe a little more flexibility though. I was just making comparisons to make a point.

Now, you'll tell me all about the riots and the civil unrest which happens in Paris mainly.

Will I? ...oh alright
Yes paris has most of the riots, most of the bigger cities do, and apparently france has the largest amount of cars set on fire each year in the whole world! Almost seems like tradition.

The French are not multicultural, if you come to France, you are expected to integrate. The unrest happens mainly in immigrant communites who are unwilling to integrate and then want to complain about how they can't access services as the French do.

I think you are expected to integrate in most countries, but I know what you mean, like I said I'm not a scrounger and I don't expect anything I don't deserve. Can't stand "freeloaders". I came here on my own, integrating was the only option other than social suicide. I've met "brits" here, but most of them are still very definately "brits". I also find that with most of the british couples, only ONE of them speaks or is learning French. Some of them just get by with "bonjour" and "je ne comprend pas". Not surprising they stick to their little circles. I got fed up being passed other peoples phones because they didn't understand or speak french and started refusing out of principle with a great big smile.

Thanks for the link Merigold (bookmarked) and seeing france at the top of the list is not a surprise but at what price? I think it clarifies some of the reasons why I made this thread.

The more you have, the more you can loose....How long can it last?

One thing I do know...when I need to earn money, I'll be working long and hard. Maybe even as much as 40 hours a week