Exactly. They tried that in France at a moment where everybody was euphoric: the two germanies had recently been re-unified and GDPs of nearly everybody were growing like crazy.
Instead of France trying to reimburse its own public state debt they decided to move to 35 hours / week.
We can see the results now: Germany's economy is one of the best in the eurozone, they managed to stay at "only" 80% of public debt and are enjoying a modest GDP growth. Meanwhile France reached 100% public debt and is dangerously close to a disaster (youth unemployment is rising, the private sector isn't motivated anymore, austerity will need to kick in or France won't be able to re-finance itself on the markets).
The loss of competitivity of France is directly attributed to moving to 35 hours / week and is going to be the main reason why France is going to lose its status as the world's fifth biggest power. By 2017 Brazil's going to be in front of France. Heck, if Holland and the socialist gets re-elected there's a far from zero probability that France won't be part of the G8 anymore by 2022!
That is very concerning but, sadly, there's nothing else to hope from socialists who are spreading hatred of the entrepreneurial spirit and hatred of those who succeeded, in the name of the nanny state spraying loyal socialist voters with money inflating their sense of entitlement.
And yet, having a 35 hour work week for 30 years is a huge achievement in itself. That's a billion hours not worked.
International economics is too complex to pin France's woes on one single factor, especially when they have a lower debt to GDP than the US which is famous for it's long working hours.
There is a lot wrong in the French economy. There is a lot uniquely wrong with every economy. I'd argue that as the huge populations of BRIC countries use modern productivity tools like automation to increase per capita GDP, it would be bizarre for France to hope to stay in the G8. And that's a win for everyone.
Instead of France trying to reimburse its own public state debt they decided to move to 35 hours / week.
We can see the results now: Germany's economy is one of the best in the eurozone, they managed to stay at "only" 80% of public debt and are enjoying a modest GDP growth. Meanwhile France reached 100% public debt and is dangerously close to a disaster (youth unemployment is rising, the private sector isn't motivated anymore, austerity will need to kick in or France won't be able to re-finance itself on the markets).
The loss of competitivity of France is directly attributed to moving to 35 hours / week and is going to be the main reason why France is going to lose its status as the world's fifth biggest power. By 2017 Brazil's going to be in front of France. Heck, if Holland and the socialist gets re-elected there's a far from zero probability that France won't be part of the G8 anymore by 2022!
That is very concerning but, sadly, there's nothing else to hope from socialists who are spreading hatred of the entrepreneurial spirit and hatred of those who succeeded, in the name of the nanny state spraying loyal socialist voters with money inflating their sense of entitlement.