French comedian Olivier Giraud has been performing his show, “How to become a Parisian in one hour” for 12 years at a theater that’s a short walk from the Louvre. His tongue-in-cheek suggestions include how to look bored and annoyed all the time and what nonsensical sounds you can make to get across your message without saying a word. While arguably an “expert” about what it takes to live in this nation’s capital, the tables were turned on Olivier when someone asked him if he were offered a million euros to become an American would he accept the money. He replied, “yes” as long as he could keep his French benefits and that’s what I wanted to investigate.

Many of the benefits that Olivier mentions are especially important to workers and although Bill and I are retired, I still wanted to see if what he said was true or if a bit of comedic license was involved. He started with:

• Six weeks of paid vacation—while some workers can earn that much time off, the norm is five weeks which is certainly not bad compared to the average two weeks that Americans receive.
• 30 days of extra time off—This RTT (Réduction du Temps de Travail) is time off that you get instead of being paid for overtime. In reality it amounts to between 6 and 12 days per year.
• 35-hour workweek—True for workers in general, but more of a threshold rather than an absolute limit. Above 35 hours you must be compensated with bonus pay or the RTT days off as mentioned above. Managers (cadre), however, can be paid to complete certain projects that might take up to 50 hours in a week, but again they too can take RTT days off later.
• Eleven national holidays—That’s the same number as in the US but Olivier wants his French ones plus the 4th of July and Thanksgiving.
• No tipping required—Because service employees are paid a “living wage”, that is, a professional salary that covers their basic needs, a tip is a genuine bonus rather than a form of survival.
• Right of abortion—The French Constitution guarantees women “the freedom to have recourse to a voluntary termination of pregnancy…”
• Right to strike (an extra 30 to 40 days off per year)—According to Statista, the actual number of days lost to strikes in France is usually less than 1 day per worker, annually. Strike days are not paid.
• Free access to health care—Medical care is a guaranteed right to all residents, regardless of their employment or financial status. Reimbursement for costs usually ranges between 70% and 100% with most people buying top-up insurance to absorb any remaining amount. 

There’s a traditional adage that says, “Many a true word is spoken in jest.” Olivier Giraud makes his living by jesting; while some of the above benefits might be a bit exaggerated, they are all based on truth.

Photo notes: The featured photo across the top was taken from the Seine River in Paris and in the first paragraph is an ancient Roman statue of Diane de Versailles on display at the Louvre. The sunset is in Saint-Jean-de-Luz.