It's August and the French are on holiday.
Well, sort of - the idea that France shuts down entirely in August is somewhat exaggerated; for the tourism businesses this is obviously peak season while emergency services continue as usual as do all sorts of vital jobs from waste collection to food deliveries. In fact, August is peak season for repair works on the Paris Metro - which means lots of engineers and technicians working hard over the summer.
For the rest of the population, the August break is often true but it tends to be two or three weeks rather than the whole month.
READ ALSO: Factcheck: Do French people really take off the entire month of August?
But there is still a clear August vibe - you notice it most in the cities which (apart from the obvious tourist areas) empty out, independent shops and cafés close up, leaving only a handwritten note on the door wishing their customers a happy holiday while it's likely that your doctor, dentist, accountant, hairdresser, baker and other vital people will also be taking a break.
Figures from the tourist body Atout France show that 67 percent of French people will take a holiday in either July or August.
This can be annoying if you're in the unfortunate position of needing to get something done urgently during August, and your stress is likely to be made worse by the shrugging insouciance of the person casually suggesting that you try again à la rentrée (in September).
But the preservation of August is important to France, as is the notion that everyone should be able to have a holiday, ideally in the summer.
Every year, pollsters run surveys on the number of French people who say they will be skipping a summer holiday because they can't afford it, and these will be run in newspapers with the implication that this number is an important barometer of how the economy, and the country in general, is doing.
A holiday is not regarded as a frivolous extra luxury, the basic principle is that everyone should be able to afford a summer break - and there are various government financial aid schemes to help low-income people go on holiday. The French national rail operator SNCF even offers every French resident one discounted train trip per year - the idea being that you use it to go on holiday.
For most people, a holiday does not mean an all-inclusive five-star hotel in the Caribbean - the majority of French people holiday in France and many people stay with family or friends to keep the costs down. The holiday is just as likely to involve picnics as restaurants, beach volleyball or pétanque rather than trips to expensive theme parks.
The point is not to spend money, it's to disconnect from the hard work and stresses and strains of daily life and instead relax and enjoy spending time with loved ones. And of course, once you are away, your right not to respond to work-related messages is legally protected.
Which is why, to me, the French August is beautiful - it asserts the simple truth that there is more to life than work, more to life than money, that time spent relaxing with loved ones is a right, not a privilege.
It's this belief that also drives local authorities across France to lay on programmes of entertainment over the summer - it's partly to entertain kids during those long summer holidays, but there's also a sense of providing some summer fun even to those who, for whatever reason, cannot go on holiday.
The urban beaches of the Paris plages were started with the explicit intent to 'bring the beach to the city' for those who could not afford to leave Paris and spend some time at the seaside.
READ ALSO: 7 cool free things to do in Paris this summer
From open-air cinemas to concerts, children's workshops to exhibitions, local mairies provide so many activities, many of them free, to try and ensure un bel été for their residents, and any tourists who happen by.
If you're looking for alternative free entertainment, there's always the social media memes of the 'European summer v American summer'.
Your european colleagues when you try following up with them on a critical project due two weeks ago
— The Random Recruiter (@randomrecruiter) July 29, 2024
pic.twitter.com/mQl7mrUdys
These are, of course, exaggerated - not only are not all French people on holiday, but many Americans are enjoying a vacation (plenty of them in France), but like many clichés, it does have a grain of truth to it.
For all the growing homogenisation of a globalised world, there is still such a thing as European and French values - and one of those is that for one month of the year we can prioritise other things over making money.
This is, in my opinion, something that France should be proud of. And it's why, I believe, all the 2027 presidential candidates currently insisting on touring the country with their election rallies are missing the point - not only do most people not care whether a candidate takes their holiday or not, but if they truly want to display their respect for French values they should be slathering on the suncream and heading for the beach.
We accept that we'll have to listen to you for the eight months between September and the presidential elections in April and May of 2027, but for now, guys, please, try to be more French.
Comments