Nabil Nad displays his renowned Nutella crepes. Nad enjoys lax working hours but grumbles about the difficulty of making money in Paris. (Zhu/TYG)

One of Nad’s dreams is to move to New York City to start his own crepe stand. “It’s hard to make money in Paris,” he grumbled. However, when asked if he still expects to start working at 3:00 pm in the Big Apple, he replied, “Yes, of course!”

While those who are not self-employed work longer hours than Nad does, their work schedules are still far more relaxed than those of their American counterparts. France’s government regulates the length of the work week in the name of work-life balance, trying hard to ensure that French people can afford time for recreation. For example, any work over 35 hours per week is considered overtime by law. Moreover, President Nicolas Sarkozy introduced fiscal reduction for overtime hours in 2007, which demands that overtime be paid 25 percent higher than the normal hourly rate.

According to Lounes Drouère, a graying former high-school teacher who now works for an insurance company, the 35-hour workweek policy has not helped at all, especially during the financial collapse. He said that since his company doesn’t want him to work beyond the 35 hours every week, he has to finish more work in the same amount of time. He can’t refuse because most companies are trying to lay off workers to cope with the tough economic situation. “I have to work much harder now than I did twenty years ago, and they are still trying to end my contract. This isn’t fair,” Drouère scowled.

But as an employed person, Drouère might count himself lucky. According to France 24, a French news service, unemployment rates have jumped to 8.7 percent, from 7.6 percent a year ago. This wave of unemployment has hit young people the hardest. According to Michel Depret, manager of Crit Employment Agency in Paris, recent college graduates are leaving school and entering the faltering French economy with unrealistic expectations. “The young people, especially those who graduated from the grandes écoles [France’s elite universities], expect a lot without having enough to offer.”

In the wake of the economic crisis, Crit, which helps workers find temporary employment, has seen at least a 40 increase in the number of job seekers who come through its doors. Depret criticizes policies like the 35-hour work week for dampening the labor market. Because regulations make it difficult for French firms to lay off workers during difficult financial times, many are reluctant to hire new workers even when the economy isn’t hurting.

As a result, many young graduates are trying to find jobs elsewhere. Marie Alice Migliaerse, a native Parisian who attends Dalphine University in Paris, would love to seek work in the U.S. “There are more opportunities there,” she said in fluent English. “Many of my friends from the grandes écoles have already left.”

Some members of the older generation seems to disapprove of this wave of youth emigration. “Young people are so materialistic nowadays,” complained Marie-Bernard Xieberras, a former French teacher and self-described art lover. “They all want to be millionaires and they all move to America.” Currently unemployed and living on her own, the 50-year-old Parisian favors a different way of life: “I don’t own anything but I don’t care. I have enough to enjoy Paris, that’s all that matters.”

While Paris itself may suffice for some, those without jobs — and especially the young — pay the heaviest price for France’s work-life balance regulations. In the meantime, said Depret of Crit employment agency, young French people should think about possibilities for creating jobs as well as obtaining them. “I think people should be more adventurous,” he said from Crit’s storefront in the Paris’s 9th district. “We need more entrepreneurs, and not many young graduates are up for that.”

Sandy Zhu is a sophomore Economics and Mathematics major in Jonathan Edwards College.

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