Two-thirds opposed to second 'solidarity day'

Two out of three people are against the idea of a second journée de solidarité, in which employees give up a day's pay for those less fortunate.

The idea, put forward by Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn and President Emmanuel Macron, was widely rejected in an online survey, published by Les Echos and Radio Classique on Monday.

In 2004, France instituted the journée de solidarité after a heatwave the previous year killed 15,000 people. The Monday after Pentacost, which had been a holiday, became a day in which employees worked but donated their pay for the day to the aged or handicapped.

Only 32% of respondents were in favour of introducing a second 'solidarity day' to help finance long-term care for the elderly, compared to 65% against. In contrast, 55% said they would support compulsory long-term care insurance, similar to vehicle or home insurance.

A total 64% said they were concerned about the future long-term care needs of themselves or someone close to them. Meanwhile, 87% supported recent protests over pay and conditions from nursing home staff.

A representative sample of 1,024 people took part in the online survey on April 18 and 19.