# Holidays Die Hard ... in France



## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*To holiday or not to holiday? For the French, that is the question *
By INGRID ROUSSEAU 
2 June 2006

PARIS (AP) - Crucial question for the leisure-loving French: Is this coming Monday a national holiday? 

Well, yes ... and no. 

It used to be, until a catastrophic heat wave killed nearly 15,000 people in 2003, after which the Monday following the Christian festival of Pentecost was declared a working day of solidarity in favor of the elderly -- the heat's main victims. 

But old holidays die hard. Many -- but not all -- workers will get Monday off, creating confusion all around. The Paris Metro will have reduced service, as will many train lines, even though many office workers will still be expected to clock in on time. 

Because roads will likely be clogged by those lucky enough not to be working, big trucks will not be allowed to circulate freely, raising questions about how companies still operating will be able to move their freight around. 

"Companies must work, but they won't be able to deliver," Laurence Parisot, head of France's leading business federation, complained Friday on RTL radio. 

"How can we tell French enterprises 'work the Pentecost Monday' and, at the same time, decide by ministerial decree to ban transport on that day?" she fumed. "That is economically incoherent." 

The government's initial idea was simple enough: An added day's grind would generate extra funds to channel toward care for the aged and handicapped. And after the horrors of the heat wave -- many of those who died were living alone -- closing ranks with the growing numbers of elderly in France had a feel-good factor, too. 

But when push came to shove, public disgruntlement over losing the coveted break swelled. Unions have dug in their heels, complaining that it is basically an extra day's work for no extra pay. 

"To say today that solidarity consists of asking 42 percent of French people to do 90 percent of the effort raises questions of equality, of justice," said Jacques Voisin, president of the CFTC union that has called a strike for Monday -- as have others. 

Some workers who have Monday off will have to make up the time at other periods of the year. For some in the public sector, that will mean giving up one of the bonus days off they get if they work more than 35 hours a week. 

But others will not. Oil giant Total is among those according the Monday holiday without making workers give up a day elsewhere. 

Because companies pay whether their employees work or not, the day of solidarity generated euro2 billion (US$2.5 billion) for care of the elderly and handicapped last year. 

And the French can take comfort from the fact that, even with an extra day on the job, they are still world-beating vacationers. 

They get an average of 37 vacation days a year, compared to 28 in Britain, 25 in Japan and 13 in the United States, according to the World Tourism Organization. According to its figures, only the Italians do better, with 42 days.


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## LtBk (Jul 27, 2004)

Its fucking pathetic that we Americans get an average vacation of two weeks.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

I get 35 days including public/national holidays, not enough imohno:


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## LtBk (Jul 27, 2004)

Jonesy55 said:


> I get 35 days including public/national holidays, not enough imohno:


Still better than what we usually get.


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