France's Economy
The 35-Hour Week
How France cut the legal working week to 35 hours in 2000 to create jobs, what research found about its effects, and how the rule was later loosened.
In 2000, France cut its standard working week from 39 to 35 hours.
The aim
- Share work: if each person works fewer hours, firms would hire more workers, reducing unemployment.
- Better work-life balance.
Implementation
- Laws by Labour minister Martine Aubry (1998 and 2000).
- Firms received tax relief on social contributions.
- Hours beyond 35 counted as overtime, paid at higher rates.
Evidence
- Some studies found modest job creation at first, often linked to subsidies.
- Others, like research by Estevão and Sá, found little lasting employment gain.
- Economists often cite the “lump of labour fallacy”: the mistaken idea that there’s a fixed amount of work to share.
Loosening
Later governments made overtime cheaper and let firms negotiate more flexible hours.
Legacy
The 35-hour week remains the legal benchmark, though many full-time workers actually work more.
The RTT days
Many French workers who work 39 hours earn extra days off, called RTT, to average 35 hours a week.
Thinking cutting hours automatically creates jobs
Evidence found little lasting employment gain.
Key takeaways
- France cut the standard week to 35 hours in 2000.
- It aimed to share work and cut unemployment.
- Evidence found little lasting job creation.
- Later governments loosened the rules.
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