Big Think Blog

As you know, I’ve been following the ongoing Americanization of France—vive le hamburger—and there’s more news today! The French parliament has passed landmark legislation eliminating the 35-hour cap on the work week, according to Reuters. President Nicolas Sarkozy,”Sarko” for short, has long blamed the short week for France’s economic decline. Tens of thousands of French workers demonstrated against the reform last month, which we love! Will this aggressive new work schedule mesh in the historically summers-off style? Who knows. But here’s former World Bank vice president and global economy expert Jean-Francois Richard on cultural differences between Europe and the United States.