It's true that some people get rich by exploitation and other nefarious means, but there are also people that get rich by doing things, by inventing, by discovering, by building companies, by doing the very things that a country like France needs to compete. A country that already hampers any real chance of getting ahead in the world (for example maximum work hours and mandated holidays) needs as much help as it can get, so maybe keeping people that got rich inside of France is actually a good thing. Maybe that chip on your shoulder is holding you back in more ways than you know.
> for example maximum work hours and mandated holidays
Where are you getting this from? They have the same type of labor laws in the US and even in China (how it is enforced is up for debate). You agree to work a certain amount of hours (35-40), you go over the company pays more. And they can't make you agree to more than that.
Holidays aren't mandatory, they are an entitlement. I may or may not work during Labor Day or Christmas. Most offices choose to shut down during holidays because, unless it is critical, with everyone else closed you it's almost impossible to get anything done.
I'm a conservative voting, free market believing Brit. I even work in the finance sector. But he american attitude to holidays appals me. I'm all for high productivity and commitment to work. I'm not even a fan of mandatory holiday allowances as I think that's should be up for negotiation.
But you'll have to take my 25 day holiday allowance out of my cold, dead fingers. My kids get to grow up just once, and I'm absolutely going to be there to see it.
The finance sector in the UK seems quite mean about holidays - I have 33 now and wouldn't go back. My wife is a lawyer and she gets even more, but due to pressure of her work she never gets to take them - at least I do.
I'm already up to 40-odd days of vacation time in the kitty. I haven't mandated anything but even my boss knows I'm entitled to take them when I want (barring schedule conflicts of course).
