French people locked in ‘laziness epidemic’ after Covid pandemic, study claims

However, the issue is proving to ba devisive one in France, splitting how those on the right and left of poitics view the situation. 

Green MP and radical eco feminist Sandrine Rousseau, for instance, has argued that people deserve a  “right to idleness”, sparking fury when she claimed that working hard is “essentially a Right-wing value”. 

She said: “We have the right to idleness. We have the right to change professions, we also have the right to take breaks in our life and, above all, we need to regain time, a sense of sharing and a four-day week.”

Mr Macron, on the other hand, who is often described as a centre-right politician (although he has claimed to achieve electoral victory on a platform that was neither left nor right), has argued that there is no excuse for not finding a job. Back in 2018, the French President siad that finding employment was as easy as “crossing the street”.

More recently, Mr Macron said: “If [people on benefits are] looking for another career, I can understand it. If they think the answer is relying on national solidarity while they reflect on things, I struggle to understand it.”

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1696735/france-laziness-epidemic-covid-19-furlough-unemployment-macron