No, the French do not work less than the Germans

French people "disenchanted" with work, guilty of France's worsening deficit. It was almost in these terms that Prime Minister François Bayrou spoke of the reasons for the growing debt on Tuesday, July 15, during the budget presentation .

"In France, we work 100 hours less per capita than in Germany," declared the Minister of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin , to justify the additional effort required of French workers. This refrain, used excessively to justify the destruction of French rights, is not new. But is it true?

The data cited by the minister comes from an OECD study and calculates the number of hours worked per capita in 2024, including inactive people. Thus, children, the unemployed, and retirees are included in the calculation. The data is thus shaped more by the demographic structure of the countries (birth rate, life expectancy) and retirement rules (Germans can only receive their pension from the age of 67) than by the productivity of workers .

By restricting the analysis to working people, the comparison serves the government's argument much less well. In 2023, according to another OECD indicator, German workers had worked an average of 1,335 hours, 154 hours less than French workers (1,489 hours).

It is true, however, that the employment rate is higher in Germany than in France . According to data published by the INSEE, the proportion of people aged 15 to 74 in employment was 68.4% in 2023 in France, compared to 77.4% across the Rhine. This difference could be seen as a concern for the distribution of work. "We all have to work, we have to work better," but not more, assured Marylise Léon, general secretary of the CFDT, on France Inter radio on Thursday.

Young French people are on average much more excluded from work than their German colleagues: the unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds is 17.2% in France , compared to only 5.8% in Germany. A note from the Economic Analysis Council of March 2025 also states that "two years after finishing their studies, young people who left school at 18 have a lower employment rate in France of 15 points compared to Germany" .

The situation is no better for seniors. According to the INSEE, in 2023, 21% of people aged 55 to 61 in France were neither employed nor retired.

"The French problem is the employment rate, not the hours worked in employment," concludes the Economic Analysis Council's note. Thus, there is no point in cutting vacation time or reducing public holidays to replenish the coffers. According to experts, it would be enough to encourage the employment of young people, seniors, and also the least qualified workers. However, it is difficult to believe that a new reform of unemployment insurance rules desired by François Bayrou, which will undoubtedly cut the rights of the unemployed , will serve this objective.