The French, uh, work ethic, so to speak. We’ve written about this subject before–and this news has us in a tizzy. Sixty-three years is a damn long holiday, even for Europeans. Bloomberg News: “French Lawmakers Pass Bill to Increase Work Hours“:
July 24 (Bloomberg) — French lawmakers passed a bill to increase work hours, eroding the 35-hour weekly limit and handing President Nicolas Sarkozy his sixth legislative victory this week before the summer recess.
The law allows companies freedom to negotiate the workweek, triples the annual ceiling of overtime, and lets white-collar workers swap days off for more pay. Sarkozy was elected in May 2007 after campaigning on the slogan “work more to earn more”, saying the decade-old 35-hour workweek reduced French competitiveness and set back economic growth. [more]