Long Lunches And Kisses Affecting France Economy

I love this article that "This French Life" put out last week. If the economy in France were not so sad, this would be funny. The great thing for "Catalyst France" is that if people become miserable enough in their life (high unemployment, stuck in the same job your whole life, no opportunity for advancement) they become very open to change. Praise God for Sarkozy, he may just be paving the way for something new spiritually also.

Two hour lunches and kissing hello is as French as the Eiffel Tower, but if the new President has his way they could be under threat.

The long lunch hour is characteristic of the French culture and from Paris to the smallest village you will find hungry workers taking their well earned lunch break.

President Sarkozy is faced with unemployment of around eight percent and an economy growing at around two percent; an issue of whether France can maintain its lifestyle and be competitive.

Opinion says that France is going downhill and that if there is no change France could find itself struggling to compete in the world of productivity and Sarkozy has promised to tackle this problem. He is considering reforms to restore the value of hard work, making a 35 hour week a minimum rather than a maximum requirement, thereby allowing people to work more by making it possible for people who work overtime to be paid for it. It is a matter of changing the French mentality regarding work ethics.

It is a joke in the world of productivity that the French waste time with meetings and the tradition of the ritual morning greeting of kissing everyone on the cheek, twice. The normal holiday allocation is 48 days off plus the many national holidays. With so many holidays it makes working life extremely pressurised.

Workers in other countries may envy the holidays and benefits of French workers, but in a recent study French workers are found to be discontented and ‘the world’s biggest whiners.’ But, it is not that the French dislike work, in fact they value hard work highly.

A spokesperson from CFDT, one of France’s largest unions, feels the French worker is highly maligned and what is needed is more people to increase production and help pay the pensions of an increasingly ageing population.

Mr Sarkozy’s plans to change France’s view of working practice have struck a chord with the people who voted him into office and his popularity has surged to 65%; the highest for a president at this early stage in office since General de Gaulle.

Changes cannot be made overnight and people’s working habits will not change quickly

It just goes to show that lots of perks and always getting what you think you want does not always make you happy.