Work to live, not live to work.

Howard, Manchester,

Savoir faire, savoir vivre.

The French do it right. Criticism by Anglo-Saxons is sour grapes.

See what they do with the few hours they work - best rail system in Europe (fast & cheap), safe, cheap, own-designed nuclear energy system, big jets to challenge Boeing, cars that sell worldwide..

Peter Lloyd, BLACKER HILL, South Yorkshire

That's how you know French secularism really works... The people stand strong against the most annoying "sectarian" threat of the past 500 years: the Anglo-Saxon mantra "In Growth we trust."

I say, well done and Chapeau mes amis! Enjoy your wine and your food, you know best how!

Un Admirateur.

Habib, London,

More bikinis in The Times than an atoll in the Pacific! Keep it up! Now, about these French holidays....

Mike L, Chippenham, Wilts

Surely the cost to company sales caused by the bridging holiday is not that high! All the customers are at the beach - the electronics company would have seen sluggish sales on that day anyway!
Why do we always have to find something to complain about!

laura, london,

That is why I love America. We want it more.

Troy, Appleton,

I would say the French public have their priorities correct.
That's why I choose to live here - 'Quality of Life'

G. Cooper, Paris, France

French productivity rate is due to employers use of machines instead of people as each employee attracts a 75% social charge tax .. thus 11% unemployment.
May is an unneccessary production catastrope for France with three bank holidays and two ponts it is invariably less productive than december.

andy , Lyon, France

Right , so some french peopel take one of their annual holiday allowance days off during a week in which the rest of the days are national holidays. Won't it cost a company more just to start up for one day, when they can have a fuller week later on in the year?

JOhn, Knutsford, Cheshire

True, it's a day off - but don't overlook the fact that the French workforce has the highest per capita productivity level of the world - far above the British one. So don't pride yourselves on dubious work ethics that lead you to spend unproductive time in the office

Fabien , Paris,

The usual lot of half-truths

1- The french are using up one of their officially approved holidays; so this is pretty much a zero-sum game for the manufacturing industries

2- On the other hand, the tourist business must be really happy with le pont

The rest is just smug hype from the brits

jorge, teruel, SPAIN

What's new? These "ATV" days have been common for years in the Netherlands. They have one after Ascension day, for instance.

M.R., Stockport,

Keep up the holidays France! It worries me not that they take more holidays than us, we will always have a weaker competitor!

Vive la France!!!

V Tan, London,

"If the French worked as much the British, they would add about 1 per cent to national wealth, according to advisers to the president."

Is it therefore true that if the British worked like the French they would loose only 1 per cent of national wealth ?
That looks a very attractive proposition.

jasper, chelmsford,

On the one hand, you're right. May is a really weird and unproductive month with so many holidays.
On the other hand it isn't exactly an 'unofficial day off'.
People take one of their days holiday to fill the gap they don't take a sikie.

Ian, Paris, France

Let us say that Mr sarkozy is right in his analysis. It is all the fault of lazy citizens. Now is the time to use his famous energy and leadership to make them work hard like the deserving Germans and British. His personal example will surely help and catalyse a long overdue transformation of France

RONNIE, PARIS, FRANCE

Ha, good for the French.

Jerry Scroggin, Phoenix, Arizona/USA