LAST summer, when François Hollande was keen to show what a normal Frenchman he was, the newly elected Socialist president went off on holiday to the Mediterranean coast for 17 days, traveling by train. This year he took just one week and allowed his government merely two—and only in France. Ministers, paler-faced than usual, have been back at their desks since mid-August. Conspicuous toil is the new watchword. But it has prompted introspection. Is it left-wing to shun holidays? Is it even French?The left invented paid holidays in France. In 1936 Léon Blum, leader of the Popular Front government, gave workers the right to two weeks’ paid annual leave, with discounted railway tickets to help factory workers and their families head to the seaside. Mandatory company works councils still subsidise, among other things, employees’ holidays. So anything that smacks of disapproval of leisure by the left can appear suspect. “The left historically fought for paid holidays,” said Benoît Hamon, a junior minister, before heading off on his mini-break. “We all need a time to rest.”But resting was not exactly what Mr Hollande had in mind, even for those precious days off. He set his ministers homework—reflections on the state of France in 2023—and tested them on their first day back. Whereas on holiday Barack Obama may pick up a golf club, or David Cameron a tennis racket, Mr Hollande,…
The Economist: Europe
