Jeb Bush, they’re looking at you. After the Republican debate’s mention of the ‘French work week’ to denote a slacker, the French are setting the record straight

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Sacré bleu, Jeb Bush is having a bad week! Not only did the presidential candidate have a disappointing showing in Wednesday’s Republican debate, he has also managed to upset people who cannot even vote for him – the French.

While taking a jab at Florida senator Marco Rubio for missing Senate votes due to being on the campaign trail, Bush made a reference to the “French work week”.

Jeb Bush gives Marco Rubio his moment to shine after debate attack fizzles out Read more

“You should be showing up to work. I mean, literally, the Senate, what is it, like a French work week? You get like three days where you have to show up? You can campaign. Or just resign. Let someone else take the job,” he said.

Bush said Rubio knew this was a six-year term when he ran for senator and that his constituents, including Bush, are looking for someone who will fight for them.

The campaign also promoted the soundbite on Twitter, sharing a short video footage of the exchange and tweeting: “French Work Week vs Real Accomplishments”.

Jeb Bush (@JebBush) French Work Week vs. Real Accomplishments. #GOPDebate https://t.co/24yQ2bMGmF

The French were not impressed.

Gérard Araud, French ambassador to the US, pushed back on Twitter. “The French work an average of 39.6 hours a week compared to 39.2 for the Germans,” he said.

“A French work week of 3 days? No, but a pregnancy paid leave of 16 weeks yes! And proud of it,” he tweeted later.

Gérard Araud (@GerardAraud) A French work week of 3 days? No but a pregnancy paid leave of 16 weeks yes! And proud of it.

Hours after the debate, a French newspaper the Local ran a piece with the headline, “White House race stoops to French bashing, again”.

“The reality is most French people work more than 35 hours each week but the cliché has stubbornly remained on the other side of the Atlantic,” asserted the paper before pointing out that this is not the first time that linking a candidate to France was used as an attack or an insult. In 2012, an ad called The French Connection produced by the Newt Gingrich campaign attacked Mitt Romney for speaking French.

Another paper, Libération, pointed out that Eurostat figures show full-time workers in France putting in an average of 40.7 hours per week.

The confusion about the French work week stems from the country’s overtime policies. The 35-hour mark is “simply a threshold above which overtime or rest days start to kick in,” French economist Jean-Marie Perbost told BBC last year. He also pointed out that more than half the population work overtime.

“Not too concerned about attacks from the French media,” Bush’s communications director, Tim Miller, told CNNMoney when asked about the response. “Jeb’s working far more than 40 hours a week.”

Miller also retweeted the following tweet and vine from Independent Journal reporter Kelsey Rupp.

Kelsey Rupp (@KelseyRupp) A look inside the "French work week" of the U.S. Senate #news https://t.co/C60YzrLuWS

The campaign was not the only one to dismiss the remark.

When Laura Haim, reporter for French TV channel Canal+, asked the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, what the president thought of the comment, Earnest joked: “I hope you didn’t take that personally, Laura. I can vouch for the fact that you certainly work more than most members of Congress.”



Haim pressed on, pointing to Ambassador Araud’s comments and asking what Obama thought of the French quality of life.

“Oh, you guys are so sensitive. I’ll bet you that Governor Bush is just jealous,” said Earnest. Later, he added: “It certainly seems to be a quality of life that many French people have warmly embraced, as they should.”