It was my first week in Strasbourg, I wanted something to eat, and I made the mistake of sitting down at a restaurant.
As I watched the waiter tend to the other tables, full of lively faces, and totally ignore me and my empty teapot, I thought wistfully back to my own country, where you don’t have to call out to the restaurant staff to ask for service since they always try to incessantly move you along. But in France, which is known for its long lunch breaks (up to 45 minutes, with multiple courses) taken with friends, it’s up to you to determine the pace of your lunch. I could’ve sat there for hours and, had I not eventually signaled to the waitress for a salad, they would’ve left me sitting there, and not by accident. As an introvert who can never remember the word for check, it’s a bit of a miserable system for me...although I must admit that it can be relaxing (when I’m not working up the courage to signal for a water refill).
With France’s iconic culinary traditions, it isn’t surprising that the French place such an importance on mealtime. These relaxed lunches tie into a deeper national commitment of balancing work with time for yourself. For instance, the trains still don’t have Wi-Fi, nor do most Air France flights. Out-of-date, perhaps, yet French transit takes pride as being one of the last places where you’re unplugged from the demands of work. Since 2000, the French workweek has been set at 35 hours, an anti-unemployment measure also meant to give workers personal time to improve their quality of life. And, of course, there are the riots over the El Khomri law.
Riots may not seem like the most relaxing way to spend a lunch break, but lately they’ve been a popular defense against the perceived destruction of this work-life balance. Since February, the French people have been at war with the socialist government against what they perceive to be le loi travail’s unjust favoritism of big business over those struggling to find and keep employment. Among its many modifications to the labor code, the El Khomri law makes people easier to fire, modifies unions’ bargaining abilities, and slashes overtime pay in exchange for time off later on. It doesn’t matter that this law was meant as a step towards reducing unemployment in a country where, given the difficulty of firing people, new jobs are even harder to find.
Furthermore, they don’t consider that these modifications bring France closer in line with many of its European neighbors. With its strong labor unions and 35-hour workweek, workers’ rights take priority in this country, to the extent that dissenting voices have effectively drowned out those of any fans of the law. Months have passed, amendments have been made, but opposition remains strong: my first week of school in September, I had to walk to class due to a tram workers’ strike and buy lunch off-campus because the cafeteria workers were protesting, too. Spray paint, stickers, and fliers all around town have called me to join in the fight.
It finally took some government strong-arming to bypass the legislation around the unaccepting National Assembly and through to the Senate for a vote in July, with final approval by the Constitutional Council and enactment in August. Now that it’s all said and done, is it true that French relaxation culture is so deeply entrenched that the mere thought of altering its edges, even for the long-term benefit of the country, is enough to start riots? To paint the protests solely as a defense of mealtime is an oversimplification. Work and leisure may be inherently linked, but in many ways, the unrest expresses a deeper national dissatisfaction with President Hollande, the Socialist Party, and their unfulfilled ideals. But with unpaid overtime and easy firing, there’s a fear that employers can better control workers’ lives off the clock, and often without the approval of their union.
In this sense, the law changes the landscape so that you’re no longer necessarily the one deciding when to signal for your check. Just as I don’t want a waiter to rush my meal along, I can understand the anxiety over going from a cushy system that grants you free time to one that seems open to pushing you out on the street.
But while I’m here and carefree, I may as well take advantage of this slower pace by sitting down with some friends, ordering a drink, and enjoying a meal without having to rush to pay the bill.
Opens in a new window