Will these public holidays which fall on Sundays depress the French?

• This May 8, day of commemoration of the victory over Nazi Germany, is a public holiday.

• This year it falls on a Sunday, without compensation for leave on another day of the week.

• This was already the case on May 1, enough to dampen the morale of the French?

After two years of being run over by the coronavirus, lockdowns, curfews and masks, it was decided, 2022 would be our year.

And we had every intention of crunching the spring to the fullest, even if it meant breaking our molars.

But now, since happiness has this unfortunate tendency to slip through the fingers, a "terrible" news has come to thwart our plans for sunshine and spring flavors.

We are of course talking about those pesky May holidays, falling twice in a row on a Sunday.

Farewell, then, to our pretty bridges, our three-four-day weekends, cycling getaways, trips to the beach or country walks.

“Spring public holidays are particularly important for French men and women, confirms Jean Viard, director of research at Cevipof and specialist in social times.

That November 11 falls on a Sunday is not very serious.

A May break creates a lot of frustration.

“Not enough to empty pots of Xanax or cry hot tears either: “It is purely random that it happens on such a day.

There is a risky side, where nobody can do anything about it, so it is better accepted, ”continues the sociologist.

Before admitting the obvious: “We would still have all been happy if May 1 and 8 fell on a Monday rather than a Sunday!

»

In Search of Lost Time

The degree of frustration varies according to the socio-professional category: "The 3-4 day getaways during the May weekends are mainly reserved for urban CSP +, who have the budget to afford it", nuance Sandra Hoibian, director of the Society pole of the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (Credoc).

For the majority of French people, departures on vacation take place exclusively in the summer, during longer sessions of one or two weeks, making travel more profitable, informs the expert.

Obviously, even without leaving, there is something to like the days off during the week: “Holidays and rest times are among the most important criteria for the morale of the French men and women, indicate all our studies.

Each moment of break, relaxation, creates well-being,” adds Sandra Hoibian.

Virtues which even tend to be underestimated by the French, specifies the director, recalling that they are “essential”.

Of the relativity of time

At least, that was before the coronavirus.

Since March 2020, the seconds like the days seem to have stretched out in the country, with annoying confinements or unbearable curfews.

“Time, the French have had it.

Maybe even too much,” smiles Sandra Hoibian.

Add to that record inflation since and the problem has changed: it is no longer a question of having time, but of knowing how to furnish it, “especially with all the questions of purchasing power”.

Not too sad, therefore, to see our public holidays merging with our Sundays.

And then this famous coronavirus has probably done far too much harm to our mental health for two long weekends in May to change anything, announces Sandra Hoibian: “We are talking about a doubling of depressive states and anxiety disorders, particularly among young people. .

It will take much more than a few holidays to remedy this.

»

On leave, do what you please

So, goodbye to the flowers, the Mondays in the sun, the smiles on the faces and our Instagram stories under the background of

and not even regrets?

The matter is not so simple, tempers Jean Viard: “Whatever the state of society, holidays are necessary and important breaths.

These two Sundays of public holidays, it is certainly not the end of the world, but it is annoying.

A fortiori for the tourism sector, which is losing the hordes of Parisians who are determined to see if misery is more beautiful in the sun.

Charles Lovin, owner of the bar

in Montpellier (Hérault) notes “a new blow for the turnover, after already complicated months”.

A year 2022 that still smells good, since in addition to May 1 and 8, January 1 (a Saturday) and December 25 (a Sunday) also fall in the middle of the weekend.

That is to say four days off vanished out of eleven, more than a third!

Enough to lead Jean Viard into a broader reflection: “Like the Germans, France could decide, at least for its religious holidays – 7 out of 11 anyway – to place them systematically on Mondays.

This would guarantee at least seven days out of eleven per year and validate them as untouchable social achievements.

“An intoxicating solution, but which would not have changed anything in our days of May, considered Republican holidays.

Come on, we console ourselves as best we can, on sunny days, even without weekdays off, it's still sunny days.

Economy

Public holidays, understanding the legislation

Economy

Employment: Paid leave, the true from the false

• Company

• Holiday

• Leave

• Summer holidays

• Tourism

• Coronavirus