French gas factories and the 35 hour week.
Following on from last week’s article on ‘the roof’ or krisha, a Russian colloquialism for a patron, today I learnt about the French term ‘gas factory’ or usine à gaz. Google’s translation of Wikipedia says:
“gas plant” is a derogatory term describing something very large, very complicated, even very expensive and which has been much talk(sic) but not used or not producing much in reality. It is used generally to describe something very disproportionate to its purpose. It takes its origin in the comparison made with a manufacturing plant of town gas, monstrous-looking, complicated and incomprehensible to the uninitiated.
What an apt euphemism. I came across it in Charles Bremner’s Times blog post on why French President Sarkozy has not canned the 35-hour working week in France. Apparently Sarkozy is trying to appease all sides in the debate by creating tax incentives and other inducements for those who work longer than 35 hours while not actually repealing the 35 hour week legislation. That would risk alienating those large elements of the electorate who have comfortable lifestyles and quite like the extra time off. Sarkozy is perhaps learning that quotation (or curse) of Bismark:
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May 21st, 2008 at 10:33 pm
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June 18th, 2008 at 4:11 am
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