Do French offices let you wear shorts in summer?

With a heatwave hitting France at the moment, you could be forgiven for wanting to turn up to work wearing something just a tad lighter.
Large swathes of the south of the country are expecting a hot time of it, with soaring temperatures predicted in the Rhone valley and the Grenoble and Lyon regions, while 18 departments have been placed on orange alert.
However, even with the mercury rising, when it comes to workwear, it would be wise to stick to what French law, and your company's regulations, allow.
At the office, some people would like nothing better than to swap their trousers for shorts, Bermuda or otherwise, for the rest of the summer. If you want to really dress down, you could even follow the trend made popular by celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Rita Ora and the Olsen twins and wear socks in sandals.
And why not. According to France's work code, nowhere are flip-flops, shorts or even tank tops forbidden at the workplace. In fact, Article L.120-2 prohibits employers from imposing clothing restrictions.
Claire Bensasson, a social law expert from the firm A-B told Le Figaro: 'Nothing is specified in collective agreements, but if there is a right way of doing things, it should be to use common sense'.
This would mean that workers should take into account both what their company's rules are as well as what the done thing is.
Public relations manager at Solvay, and former president of ANDRH, Jean-Christophe Sciberras, says: 'When it is hot, at the office, everyone takes off their tie but no one would consider putting on their shorts.'
However he adds: 'It is not against the rules to ask one's employer if they can come to work dressed in lighter clothes", with Claire Bensasson pointing out that the best way to do this is via email.
Nadia Tigzim, who specialises in employment law, says that the best thing to do is to ask the right questions.
'A pair of flip-flops could be problematic for a receptionist or someone who has to deal with the public. Even if the risk of dismissal is minimised, being blamed for what you wear is still a possibility and if so, it would be better not to do it again,' she said.
'If the worker continues wearing inappropriate clothing, they could be dismissed, but this would only be in exceptional circumstances,' she added.
Besides any possible penalty, what colleagues think of you is equally at stake. 'To avoid being rejected, workers moderate themselves, it is a group phenomenon', said Jean-Christophe Sciberras, meaning most people end up conforming to what everyone else is doing.