Bank holidays under scrutiny as France's economy slugs along

France’s bank holidays, into their third this month, have come under attack for contributing to the country’s economic downturn. A recent study shows that fewer days off would allow the country to save money, while many politicians say the holidays are what make up the fabric of French culture.

French President François Hollande and Polish counterpart Bronislaw Komorowski, on 8 May, one of France's many bank holidays Reuters/Michel Euler

Four bank holidays take place during the month of May in France, and this year, they all fall mid-week. In true French tradition, many take off not only the bank holiday, but one or several days off before and after to make for a long weekend.

With France’s economic woes increasing and popularity for French President François Hollande in a free fall, the number of non-working days in the country has come under scrutiny.

Nathalie Arthaud, spokesperson for labour organisation "Lutte ouvrière," told the AFP News Agency that France should actually have more bank holidays, to allow people to take much needed rest from increasing everyday stress.

“It’s important to be able to breathe,” she said. “In so many businesses or factories, the pace of work is unsustainable. So, luckily, there are bank holidays! As for competitiveness, that’s the language of employers, which means more worker exploitation.”

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s Far Right, said on Tuesday that the religious aspect of France’s holidays were part of the country’s culture and shouldn’t be touched.

“We have a history, our roots are in religion and that’s also what constitutes a bank holiday,” she told France 2 television. “For this reason, I don’t see why we should change things.”

However, not all politicians are in favour of upholding holidays and instead want to get the French working more yearly hours.

Marielle de Sarnez, the vice-president of centre party MoDem, told iTELE, “It’s really sad. We can see very clearly that we will not be able to create wealth in this country, make reforms nor be competitive in the global market by accumulating bank holidays. We need to seriously think about this.”

According to a recent study by research institute Insee, getting rid of bank holidays would allow France to save more money, and the holidays have a serious affect on the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

The study showed that the reduction of total work days in 2013 (two fewer than in 2012) claimed a 0.1 percent loss in yearly GDP.

As France comes under attack for taking too many days off work, JournalDunet.com is quick to point out that several other European countries count more bank holidays than their French counterpart. France ranks fifth on the scale, along with Spain, the United Kingdom and Sweden, and come behind Austria, Malta, Greece and Poland.

During the month of May, the French celebrate Labour Day on the 1st, the end of World War II on the 8th, the day of Ascension on the 9th and Pentecost on the 20th.