Warning: Irony.
The French are fantastic people. They eat some of the best food in the world, have great wine, and hardly go to work but have no problem picketing the streets for months if somebody tells them to work 40 hours a week. And their attitude towards extramarital affairs is so relaxed that the English language uses a French word to describe it.
Yet, a new study shows that the French love their wives (and husbands). Or at least, they love them more than going to work…
The study used the fact that there are several public holidays throughout the year when employees get a day off, but self-employed people are free to take the day off or spend it with work.
The chart below shows that self-employed people in France are highly likely to take a day off when their employed spouses get a day off on a bank holiday. Even when self-employed are married to a person who is self-employed as well, they both tend to take the day off when there is a public holiday so they can spend time together. As you might have guessed, the effect is stronger when the couple has children because the kids get a day off from school as well.
Likelihood of taking a day off at a bank holiday when self-employed
Source: Georges-Kot et al. (2024)
So, there you have it. The French may enjoy their ménages-a-trois, but they do love their spouses. So much so that they choose to spend bank holidays with them rather than getting some work done.
I love the French. They have their priorities right.
Apparently during the cold war Soviet kompromat didn't work on the French.
Russian spook: 'work with us or we'll tell your wife about your affair'.
French: 'go bore her, she already knows'.