Calls for French Republicans to back four-day week policy

The campaign for the implementation of a four-day week has continued to gain momentum in France, with the former candidate for the leadership of the conservative Republicans party, Aurélien Pradié, calling for his fellow party members to consider supporting the policy. 

As reported by Le Figaro, Pradié, who recently failed in a bid to become the leader of the Republicans, finishing third in the first round of voting with 22.9 per cent, has made it clear that he will continue to try and push his party to consider new ideas. One of these is to support the creation of a 38-hour week, which could be done in four, rather than five days. In an interview with France Info, he said that this policy would “allow people more time to organise their lives”. 

The deputy, who is 36, also stressed the importance of representing “a new generation”, and reiterated his support for reforms to the pension system in France. These include not considering the age of retirement as the basis of pensions, but instead, the number of years worked, so that “he who started working early ends up finishing early”. 

As for the four-day week proposal, Pradié supports is of interest given that whilst the idea has been around for some time in France, it has traditionally been promoted by left-wing politicians such as the ecologist Sandrine Rousseau.

In the past, trials of a four-day week in the United Kingdom have ‘achieved positive results’ and a majority of Brits have expressed their support for the change.

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