No wonder engineering is such a valued and respected profession here in France – the French certainly do love their bridges, but beautiful as this picture is (Pont Normandie in Le Havre) it’s not that kind of bridge that we Brits might be most jealous of.
I’m writing this blog post on Ascension Day, 26th May 2022 – a date that, unless you’re a practising Catholic, chances are has passed you by. Well, I can assure you that it wouldn’t if you lived in France, because today is a Public Holiday (just like many other religious days in France, particularly in the month of May), and because today is a Thursday, it would be such a shame to have to go back to work/school for just one day tomorrow, so a large part of French society is taking tomorrow off as well. That’s where the “bridge” comes in, as the holiday tomorrow forms a bridge between the Public Holiday today and the weekend – great, isn’t it? Can you believe there’s even such a think as a “viaduct”, if the Public Holiday happens to land on a Wednesday, giving you the opportunity to take take 2 days off before or after? Ah, c’est vraiment la vie!
However, before you start thinking the French have it so much better than the Brits, there is one thing which doesn’t work so well for them. There may be more Public Holidays over here, but when they fall on a weekend, there’s no possibility of taking a working day off in lieu. This means, for example, that when Christmas and New Year’s Day land on a Sunday, as they will this year, the following day is a normal work day. Now, that’s really tough, isn’t it? So, when you’re at home nursing your hangover next New Year, spare a moment for all the poor French who have to leave theirs to rush back to work! Feeling slightly less hard done by?
