一提到放假，估計有不少跟小编一样的上班族在两眼发光呢！要是说到法国的假期，更是让人羡慕嫉妒得“咬牙切齿”了！在日复一日的劳累中，谁不希望可以暂时告别繁忙，在假期中放松身心？双休日、带薪长假、法定节假日再加上其他假日，法国人最多每年大约有150天不用工作！OMG！这简直就是“爽歪歪”了！不仅如此，在法国，只要在一家企业工作满一个月，所有员工都可以享受带薪假期，带薪假期的天数根据员工一年之内的实际工作时间而定，每工作一个月，可“存下”2天半的带薪假期，如果工作满一年，那么全年带薪假期天数为30个非假日。然而，幸福如人饮水，冷暖自知。对于身在福中的法国人来说，面对这些假期，他们是真的快乐，还是只是看起来如此呢？

Are the French Always on Vacation or does It Just Seem That Way？

Linda Wertheimer （Host）： As you plan your summer vacation， it might be hard to fit everything youd like to do into the one or maybe two weeks of leave youve saved up. In France， people are dealing with the opposite problem—too much time off. And as NPRs Eleanor Beardsley reports， not everyone is able to enjoy all that vacation.

Eleanor Beardsley （Byline）： In a piece I wrote in May， I described how hard it is to get anything done with all the public holidays and vacation in France， especially the school vacation. French kids have two whole weeks off every six weeks， plus two months off in the summer. In response to my essay， I received loads of emails of support from ex-pats， but do French people share my frustration？

Pauline Dubois： （Speaking French）

Beardsley： I meet Pauline Dubois on a park bench as she watches her two children play. Dubois is able to fully benefit from the system. For starters， shes a teacher， so she has the same time off as her kids. There are other reasons.

Dubois： （Through interpreter） During the two-week breaks throughout the year， we go to the family house in Brittany for at least one of the weeks. And the other week I usually take care of them with the help of one of their grandmothers.

Beardsley： A country house and dependable grandparents are key and Duboiss husband， like most French people since the advent of the 35-hour work week， has about nine weeks of vacation. She admits not everyone is as fortunate.

Dubois： （Through interpreter） Not everybody can get away. As a teacher， after the February vacation， I see the kids who have tan marks from their ski goggles and those who dont.

Beardsley： Annick Metefia says vacation in France is seen as a human right， but it does divide the haves from the have-nots.

Annick Metefia： When you have a system indeed where there is a lot—quite a lot of vacation， you have the children in the poor families who dont go on vacation.

Unidentified Child： （Speaking French）

Rayanne Dupuis： Oh， OK， very good.

Beardsley： But its not just the poor who cant get away. Canadian Rayanne Dupuis and her French husband are self-employed， so they dont have paid leave.

Dupuis： I have somehow been made to feel that my child has fallen behind because she doesnt have a star yet in skiing in the French Alps.

Beardsley： Yes， Paris elementary schools run inexpensive day camps when schools out and the city offers recreational activities for children on a sliding fee scale. But after about age 9， many kids dont wanna go to the day camp. Even they realize it isnt true vacances.

I meet Pascale Achard waiting for a bus with her two children. For her， a working mother， the kids constant breaks are a hassle， but she says with the long， intense French school days， the children need the break.

Pascale Achard： Yes. They have a lot of vacation， but we are used to it. I mean， weve been born like this with this rhythm and we are used to it. And for me， at the end of the six weeks， they need to get off.

Beardsley： For an ex-pat not used to that rhythm， it seems the country is always off. At certain times of the year， its hard to get your car fixed or make a doctors appointment. Michel Roggero owns this small café near the Eiffel Tower. He says he struggles.

Michel Roggero： （Speaking French）

Beardsley： “The month of May almost has more days off than workdays with all the national holidays，” he says. Then theres the long vacation in August. He says his cafés well-heeled residential neighborhood is often empty. Roggeros brother has come in for a coffee. He describes himself as a bluecollar worker and disagrees about the days off.

Unidentified Man： （Speaking French）

Beardsley： “Our vacation and days off can never be sacrificed，”says Roggero. “Weve worked too hard for them.”

琳達·韦特海默（主持人）：在计划夏日假期时，你也许会觉得把想做的事都排入攒起来的一周或两周的假期内很不容易。在法国，人们担心的是相反的问题——假期时间太多了。看看NPR的记者埃莉诺·比尔兹利发回的报道，并不是每个人都能把假期休完的。

埃莉诺·比尔兹利（撰稿人）：我在五月发表的一篇文章中说过，考虑到法国所有的公众假期和休假，尤其是学校假期，要做完什么事可真难。法国的孩子们每六周就休息整整两周时间，在夏天还有两个月的暑假。关于这篇文章的回应，我收到了大量来自外籍人士表示认同的邮件，但是，法国人真的跟我有着同样的困扰吗？

波琳·迪布瓦：（讲法语）

比尔兹利：我在公园的长椅上见到了波琳·迪布瓦，她当时在看着她的两个孩子玩耍。……