During his general policy speech, Gabriel Attal announced that he had asked “all of (his) ministers to experiment [la semaine en quatre jours] in their central and decentralized administrations. THOMAS SAMSON / AFP
The idea of “differentiated weeks” for divorced parents, that is, four days when they are responsible for their children, and five days the rest of the time, would be supported by Gabriel Attal, we learned this weekend. end.
It’s an announcement that made the headlines in the press this weekend: in the public service, divorced parents could soon be entitled to “differentiated weeks“. That is, weeks of four days when they are responsible for their children, and of five days the rest of the time. “Gabriel Attal is particularly keen on this (…) track”we learned in La Tribune Dimanche.
Contacted by Le FigaroMatignon (re)clarifies the government’s project. “The subject is not just divorced parents. The goal is that the four-day week is aimed at everyone, at all employees”, we insist in Gabriel Attal’s office. So both divorced parents and others, parents or not, in the public as well as in the private sector. Week “in” four days and no “of” four days, we correct, i.e. “with the same number of hours worked” than a typical five-day week.
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Framework agreement on “working better” in the public service
And Matignon referred to the general policy speech delivered by the Prime Minister at the end of January, recalling that he had decided, at the time when he was Minister of Public Accounts, to experiment in his administration with a four-day week, “without reduction in working time”Gabriel Attal announced that he had requested “to all of (his) ministers to experiment with this solution in their central and decentralized administrations ». Despite the French’s desire for a better work-life balance, a first experiment at Urssaf in Picardie at the beginning of 2023 ended with failure, with only three employees having tried the experiment.
On the week in four days, Gabriel Attal “wishes the State to be exemplary, and as such the Minister of Civil Service Stanislas Guerini will be mobilized on this subject”, says those around Gabriel Attal. The Prime Minister must give him a broader mandate “to negotiate a framework agreement with trade union organizations on “working better”” in the public service, indicated La Tribune Sunday this week-end. No further details at this stage, the executive referring to the government seminar devoted to work, scheduled for March 27. “The topic of the week in four days will be on the table”we confirm to Matignon, estimating that such a development corresponds “the aspirations of employees” and their need for “flexibility”.