French told to take more naps... but also work more
The French are envied the world over – and sometimes chided – for their right to long holidays, a 35-hour working week and the ' right to disconnect ' from office-related communication, now a law.
Yet despite such measures to ensure a healthy work-life balance, the French are not getting enough sleep at night and should thus take more naps in the day, France's health ministry has insisted.
This week, it launched a 25-point 'roadmap for quality sleep' whose centrepiece is promoting the siesta both in schools and in the workplace.
'I am very much in favour of napping, whether at work or at school,' said Yannick Neuder, the French health minister, who unveiled the plan on Tuesday.
While stopping short of issuing siesta decrees, the minister said he would push employers to set up break areas or quiet zones to encourage 15 to 20-minute power naps in a drive to improve concentration, reduce stress and limit the risk of accidents.
That includes a 'quiet label', which identifies areas in schools, libraries, businesses, shops and restaurants that 'promote well-being, relaxation and even naps'.
'Studies have shown that French people's sleep has decreased by 1.5 hours in 50 years and that almost 50 per cent of French people complain of poor sleep quality,' said Mr Neuder while presenting his plan.
'And we know that poor sleep has an impact on health, both mental health – more stress, depression, etc – and physical health, with more obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease,' he added.
The average French adult sleeps seven hours a night, and one in five sleeps less than six hours. Cited causes include excessive screen time, irregular lifestyles, noise, poor housing and the aftermath of Covid.
'Quiet time'
The plan will also target schools where 30 per cent of children and 70 per cent of teenagers sleep less than the recommended amount, according to studies cited by the ministry.
Without shaking up school timetables, it encourages teaching staff to incorporate 'quiet time tailored to pupils' biological needs'.
But the call for more siestas comes just days after the prime minister François Bayrou appealed to the French to end decades of denial and accept that ' the French do not work enough '.
In particular, Mr Bayrou, the centrist at the head of the minority government since December, declared war on malingering as part of his drive to 'reconcile the French with work' and salvage the country's debt-ridden state coffers.
The French absentee level is one of Europe's highest and about double that of Britain and the United States. The cost is estimated at up to €80 billion, more than the state education budget.
France has fewer people working than its neighbours and spends the most on benefits, 'yet the French are increasingly dissatisfied with their public services and we are the most pessimistic country in the world', Mr Bayrou said in a speech presenting his cost-cutting package last week.
Inspectors found that half of all people on long-term medical leave of 18 months lacked justification, the prime minister said.
France has seen a 40 per cent rise in absenteeism over the past five years in the private sector, with almost 6 per cent of employees off sick at any time. The figures are even higher for the state sector, which accounts for more than 20 per cent of the workforce and saw a 79 per cent rise in public servant sick leave between 2014 and 2022.
The prime minister's austerity plans, which include scrapping two public holidays, prompted outrage from opposition parties across the political divide, and polls suggest that 60 per cent of the public oppose them.
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