It is the weekend of Pentecost and a new division between the haves and have-nots reveals itself in France. Not, for once, a socioeconomic divide, but a more dramatic split: between the "have days off" and the "have-not days off."
Traditionally today has been a public holiday in France. Then last year, following a heatwave that killed thousands of old people, the government suggested that everyone should work normally with their companies giving seven hours' worth of earnings to a commission for the elderly and disabled. The first "day of solidarity" raised 2 billion euros (US$2.58 billion) with about half the country working. This year the chaos is total.
Everyone is asking: Et toi, tu bosses lundi? ("Are you working on Monday?")
The answer to the question is that nobody knows.
"There is a little incoherence," admitted Prime Minister Dominque de Villepin.
Liberation, the left-wing daily, on Saturday slammed "the dumbest day" on its front page.
Broadly, about 40 percent of the country will work, but no one knows exactly.
Local municipal administrations are working, the post office is closing but the Interior Ministry will not. Workers at the Ministry of Health will be at their desks, but those in each hospital are free to decide.
The chaos does have some advantages.
"It's perfect if you are having an affair," one 40-year-old businesswoman said. "My husband has no idea if I am at work or not. I wouldn't exploit the situation personally of course, but ..."
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