Choosing to stay in the city and work over August is as alien to Parisians as veganism
Imagine a world where August is a universal month off for the UK — a time for rest, family, holidays and no work.
It’s a practise favoured in continental Europe and supporters argue that the shared break causes less disruption, improves mental health, and can even increase long-term productivity. However, there are doubts it would work in the UK with critics raising concerns about economic slowdown, service disruption and inequality.
So, should we all get August off? Economist Hamish McRae, journalist Emily Watkins and French-British comedian Tatty Macleod offer their perspective.
“Where are you spending August?” Asks my friend Louis as we sip a glass of rosé in the scorching Parisian sun. “I’m staying here” – he nearly spits out his Château Minuty at the absurdity of my phrase. This is the reaction I’ve been getting ever since the weather warmed up and the vacances became everyone’s favourite topic of conversation. Choosing to stay in the city and work over August is as alien to Parisians as veganism.
I’ve created an entire career around comparing French and British cultures and there is nothing that resonates more than the difference in our work habits. My sketch of a French woman outraged at the audacity of her English boss calling her up to “check where she is” whilst she’s on the beach (obviously, it’s August) has over 20 million views. It’s one of those fundamental culture clashes – like French versus English drinking or coq au vin versus fish and chips.
Though I grew up in France, taking August off isn’t a French-ism I’ve adopted. In fact as a comedian it’s usually my busiest month of the year. August typically involves 30 days at the Edinburgh Festival doing back-to-back shows, flyering on the Royal Mile and having a nervous breakdown. A monumental whirlwind in the Scottish sun that culminates in the paranoid envy of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. It’s the least relaxing time of the year.
That was before I moved to Paris eight months ago. It’s funny how quickly you adapt to your environment because after 10 years in London – a decade of “August is just another month” – I’m completely re-thinking my habits.
This is partly due to social pressure, there are only so many times you can explain “in England everything stays open”. Then as my dinner companion looks at me with utter pity, “it isn’t that in the UK we don’t go on holiday, it’s just that we go at different times of the year”. Louis gives me a conciliatory smile before returning to his rosé and planning his August retreat to l’Île de Ré.
Here are my observations after countless wine-filled debates with Parisians. In the UK we spread annual leave so that everyone isn’t away at the same time. In France they do the opposite. The French decided to cram all annual leave over the summer so that all workforce are absent at the same time.
This business hiatus means that you won’t return after an extended break to hundreds of unread emails and an anxious month catching up on all the work you missed. If you do however decide to stay, you’ll be faced with a barrage of out of office emails and tumbleweed in the workplace.
I’ve also realised that it isn’t just a question of when we holiday but also how we holiday. In France they take longer holidays. An average holiday here is 13.7 days versus 8.7 days in the UK. As one friend of mine put it, “If it’s not two weeks, it’s not a holiday” – if you say so Jean-Baptiste.
Not only that, the French like to go away within France whereas in the UK only 14.8 per cent of Brits opt to stay put. If the Brits do choose a staycation it’s usually a shorter holiday, typically 3.3 days. We like the UK for mini breaks but not for our meaty getaways. This tallies with the way in which we take annual leave, in France they holiday in long blocs over one period whereas in the UK we spread our trips throughout the year opting for shorter holidays with more variety.
There are a minority of French people who are bucking the trend and holidaying in September. Notably those without children who can make the most of off-peak travel. These trail-blazers are known as “Les Septembristes”. A cooky minority that you’ll spot enjoying cheap travel and better value hotels in undercrowded tourist spots. But for the great majority, les vacances is synonymous with August.
This year I’m taking a leaf out of the French book and for the first time since 2016 I’m not going to Edinburgh. I was looking forward to discovering Paris in August deserted of all Parisians but instead I’m following the herd and heading south. I suspect it will be expensive and full of the screaming children but at least when I return this autumn I’ll have a socially acceptable answer to the question, “alors les vacances?”. One which won’t make my friends choke on their rosé.
Tatty Macleod is a comedian