Finally a consensual topic! Nearly 2 out of 3 French people vote for the “four-day week”, according to a Cluster 17 poll for Le Point. They are precisely 63% to say they are “favorable” to the concentration of working time over 4 days, instead of 5 currently. This measure is emulated all over Europe: Iceland, Spain and the United Kingdom have experimented with it. In France, a handful of private companies have already adopted it on a voluntary basis and the government is preparing to test it (without reducing working hours) with certain public officials.
“The four-day week appears to be a very non-divisive subject. Almost all age groups, genders and political sensitivities are in favor of it, ”decrypts Stéphane Fournier, director of studies for Cluster 17. On the political side, precisely, left-wing voters are the most receptive. According to Cluster 17, almost a third of the voters of Yannick Jadot (EELV), Fabien Roussel (PCF) and Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the last presidential election say they are “very favorable” to this reform. During the 2022 campaign, these three candidates displayed (rather or frankly) their preference for the 4-day week, but proposed to accompany it with a reduction in weekly working time.
Today, the 4-day week is mainly supported by the environmental left. The deputy for Paris Sandrine Rousseau, in particular, considers it essential to slow down economic activity to save the planet. In public opinion, we see it above all as an opportunity to take advantage of an additional day off. “After the Covid-19 crisis, the French seem to be looking for a new balance between professional and personal life, comments Stéphane Fournier, director of studies at Cluster 17. It’s a day to take care of children and devote themselves to leisure. »
Unsurprisingly, the rare pockets of resistance are found on the right of the political spectrum. The concentration of working time over 4 days only garners a favorable opinion of 44% among the voters of Éric Zemmour (Reconquête!) and Valérie Pécresse (Les Républicains), i.e. 19 percentage points less than for the whole the French.
The study laboratory, which divides opinion into 16 political sensitivities, reveals strong reluctance among “liberals” (50% unfavorable) and “identity” (41%) while only 26% of French people reject the week of four days. “The most reluctant belong, more or less, to the elite right, the one that has economic and cultural heritage, the one where Catholics are overrepresented and who voted for François Fillon in 2017”, outlines Stéphane Fournier. The cluster of “centrists”, a wealthy category, made up of executives and pro-Macron, is also less enthusiastic than the average French (55% favorable, 32% unfavorable).
Enthusiasm also varies according to socio-professional categories (CSP), without it being possible to speak of a divide. Workers (68%) and employees (71%) are much more in favor of the four-day week than managers (64%), retirees (61%) and intermediate professions (60%). Only craftsmen, traders and business leaders are mostly unfavorable (42% for, 44% against). Perhaps this CSP, who often spreads her work week over 6 days, perceives that of 4 as a mirage.
Study carried out by Cluster17 for Le Point with a sample of 2,610 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over. The sample is drawn up according to the quota method, with regard to the criteria of sex, age, socio-professional category, type of municipality and regions of residence. Online self-administered questionnaire. Interviews conducted from March 17 to 19, 2023.
