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The UK's Brexit negotiators were arrogant - not Barnier
'The EU has become stronger as a result of the UK’s exit,' says reader
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French town's ban on drying laundry outside is nonsense
Drying outside saves energy - and avoids damp air inside
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September is such a relief after France's hectic summer
The holidays and social engagements give way to peace and quiet
Belief in time off work
Secularism (laïcité) – the prevailing norm that you can believe what you want (just don’t share it with the rest of us) – comes something of a cropper at holiday time.
Of the 11 national public holidays a year, six derive from the Catholic Christian tradition and none from Judaism or Islam. Many people are only dimly aware that certain days are linked to the ecclesiastical calendar (other days, like Christmas, are a bit more obvious) but that is not the point: for a day off work to be given official status it must not be related to religion. The solution, therefore, is not to add more different faith-based holidays but to rename the existing days off so they no longer have a connection to Christianity. Then, as far as practicable, all workers should be given the right to take an allocated number of days off work when then they want, so that they can observe their own religious feast days at their discretion.
