Each Sunday, in "Zoom in", Axel de Tarlé projects himself on an economic or societal fact.

In New Zealand, to help the tourism sector, the Prime Minister wants to reduce the week to 4 working days. It is serious ? 

But, absolutely. "This is an exceptional moment and we should be ready to consider extraordinary ideas," said Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand. So why not the weekend from Thursday evening? The objective is to help the tourism sector, to give more holidays to the inhabitants. It is a way of stimulating our spending in the tourism sector. 

And what do the Patrons say in New Zealand? We imagine that they are not delighted with the idea of ​​freeing their employees from Thursday evening? 

Listen, the Prime Minister explains that with teleworking, we have seen that there is more flexibility in business. And so, why not share these productivity gains with employees by giving them more vacations?

It is curious, in France we say exactly the opposite. Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, President of Medef, asked that we work more, to get out of the crisis as quickly as possible.

Yes, and since then, he has (a little) returned to his words in the face of bronca, but also, faced with a very simple reality: that there is no work. To work more, the demand would still have to be there. However, in the automobile, in the air, the catering, demand has volatilized. This is why there is no rule.

In fact, what is needed is flexibility. Work more when the demand is high, as at hairdressers for example at the moment. And if not, work less, when the economy is flat, as proposed by New Zealand. 

But, basically, do we have a problem with working hours in France? We often hear that we work less than elsewhere. 

If we look at the weekly working hours, France is average. On the other hand, it is true that France stands out, on the negative side, if we look at working hours over a lifetime.

Why ? Because in France, we retire earlier than with our neighbors. We have the longest pensions in the OECD, 27 years for women. 23 years for men. But, it is a very "touchy" subject. I remind you that just before the covid-19 crisis, we gutted ourselves on pension reform. So when we talk about "National Union", it may not be a great idea to reopen this pension file.