今天是5月8号星期四，法国的公众假期之一：二战胜利日。这个假期跟德国意大利同事就没法提，提了估计要急眼。
既然放假，今天说点轻松愉快的，不沉思。
大家印象当中法国的公众假期特别多，其实并不是这样。刚来法国的时候我还数了一下，法国一年的公众假期有多少天，中国一年的公众假期有多少天，数到最后真的差不多。为什么大家会觉得法国人假期多呢，主要是因为他们年假多，普遍都有三四十天。
法国这边是没有调休的。以今天为例，公共假期落在了星期四，并不会有四五六放假，星期天上班这样的调休。所以很多人会在周五请一天年假，这样四五六日可以连起来休四天，变成一个小长假。五月份这样的情况很多，所以总感觉法国人在五月份不怎么上班，随便混混就过去了。当然星期五这一天也可以不请年假，刨去邮局银行这些不得不上班的行业，很多人也会主动选择这一天上班，因为80%的同事都放假了，估计老板以及老板的老板都在放假，所以可以轻轻松松的当一天工资小偷，也挺好的。
我今天只能放半天假，剩下半天要加班。并不是强制的，而是因为deadline刚好是这周五和下周二，所以事情比较多安排不过来。我的一些法国同事也面临同样的状况，很多人选择今天上一天班，明天放假，这样至少五六日三天连休，也不错。
法国人虽然假期多，但假期可以做的事情却不多。因为你放假别人也放假了，这里的“别人”意味着你想出门吃个饭，饭馆儿也放假关门了；你想进城买买东西逛个街剪个头发，店铺也放假关门了；就算你想出门买个面包逛个超市，也要努力寻找那几个放假不关门的店，另外这些个店铺每次放假的时间安排都是临时随意决定的，大概就是头一天晚上在店门口贴一张A4纸的随意程度。
法国可以平等的创死所有的j人，你想计划都没得计划。
所以大多数人能做的事情无非就是，一）出门旅游，二）户外运动，三）逛公园，四）在家轰趴。
出门旅游是一个很尴尬的选择。和国内的小长假一样，你面临着所有人都想出门旅游的情况，机票火车票和酒店都贼贵，机场或者公共交通也会面临罢工或者人手不足的情况，往往是花了钱又添了堵。
户外运动是一个还算靠谱的选择。我趁着半天假，出门骑了趟车。并不意外的发现，路上人，车，自行车，大人小孩，狗，都特别多。所以大概骑了一个多小时就回来了。放假嘛，正常。总能想起来疫情那阵，当强制要求大家老老实实在家呆着不要出门的时候，很多人非要以锻炼身体的名义出门跑步。后来解禁了没有任何限制了，跑步的人也消失了。一句话总结，又逆反，又爱扎堆儿。
逛公园感觉是小巴黎常见的放假休闲方式之一，郊区人民往往会开着车去山里。巴黎的河边公园草坪上，天气好就会长出许多许多的人来。郊区人民靠山吃山靠水吃水，就算是周末或节假日在山里徒步也遇不到几个人。
最后，在家轰趴，我的邻居们非常喜欢而我非常不喜欢的一种度假的方式。以今天为例，我可以听见来自不同方向的三四种不同的音乐，有雷鬼，全是新手的乐团，法语说唱，伴随小孩的高分贝尖叫声，此起彼伏。所以这就是为什么我选择顶着太阳出门骑车。
哦补充一条，还有很多法国（男）人的假期主要活动就是修房子。这边建于上世纪或者几个世纪之前的老房子很多，维护起来很繁琐，加上人工也贵，很多人都会选择自己修。
大家印象当中的法国人重视生活质量，会享受生活，很在意work life balance。表面看起来确实也是这样，同事之间聊的最多的话题大多是，周末你去哪儿玩了，五一假期去哪玩了，暑假计划去哪玩啊，我去哪个山里的小木屋了，我在哪儿吃了哪个餐厅特别高大上，等等等等吧。非常像是朋友圈或Instagram的现场口播和点赞环节，每个人都是那么的松弛，那么的不卷。后来跟一些同事朋友们熟悉了问起来才发现，有些人要攒半年的钱用来暑假出国玩儿，有些人会买一大盒速冻的千层面吃一个礼拜也要攒下钱来去著名小岛打卡。是不是享受生活很难评，但有梦想又能实现还是挺好的，祝贺他们。
昨天晚上全城狂欢，巴黎圣热尔曼赢了阿森纳，打入欧冠决赛。楼下一直到很晚都有人嗷嗷叫，农民队伍即将走向巅峰，祝贺他们。
今天很多人都在po新教皇，虽然我不信教，但还是祝贺他。
最后祝大家能放假的就节日快乐，有周末的那就周末快乐。
Today is Thursday, May 8th, one of France’s public holidays: Victory Day (World War II Day). I think I can’t mention this holiday to my German and Italian colleagues; they’d probably get upset.
Since it’s a holiday, let’s talk about something light and cheerful today, no deep thoughts.
Many people have the impression that France has a lot of public holidays, but that’s not actually the case. When I first came to France, I even counted how many public holidays there are in France and China in a year, and in the end, they were about the same. The reason people think the French have so many holidays is mainly because they have a lot of annual leave, generally 30 to 40 days.
There’s no compensatory leave system in France. For example, today is a public holiday on Thursday, many people take one day of annual leave on Friday, so they can have a four-day bridge, turning it into a mini-holiday. This happens a lot in May, so it often feels like the French don’t work much in May and just coast through the month. Of course, you don’t have to take annual leave on Friday. Aside from those jobs that absolutely require working, like at the post office and delivery, many people will choose to work on this day because 80% of their colleagues are on holiday, and the boss and even the boss’s boss are probably on holiday too. So, it’s an easy way to steal a day’s wages, which isn’t bad.
I only get half a day off today; I have to work the other half. It’s not mandatory, but the deadlines are this Friday and next Tuesday, so I have a lot to do and can’t manage it all. Some of my French colleagues are in the same situation; many choose to work today and have tomorrow off, so at least they get a three-day weekend, which isn’t bad either.
Although the French have many holidays, there aren’t many things they can do during those holidays. Because when you’re on holiday, everyone else is too. “Everyone else” means that if you want to go out for a meal, the restaurants are closed; if you want to go into town to shop, get a haircut, or do other things, all the shops are closed; even if you just want to buy bread or go to the supermarket, you have to struggle to find the few shops that are open during the holiday. Furthermore, the closing times for these shops are decided arbitrarily each time, roughly as casually as posting an A4 sheet of paper on their door just the night before.
In France, you can’t even plan ahead.
So, most people can only do one of the following: 1) travel, 2) outdoor sports, 3) visit parks, or 4) have a party at home.
Traveling is a very awkward choice. Like domestic long weekends, you face the situation where everyone wants to travel, airfare, train tickets, and hotels are incredibly expensive, and airports and public transportation may face strikes or staff shortages, often resulting in wasted money and added inconvenience.
Outdoor sports are a relatively reliable option. I took advantage of a half-day off to go for a bike ride. Unsurprisingly, the streets were packed with people, cars, bicycles, adults, children, and dogs. It took me about an hour to cycle back. It’s a holiday, so it’s normal. I keep thinking back to the pandemic, when everyone was forced to stay home, but many insisted on going out for a run under the guise of exercise. Later, when restrictions were lifted, those runners disappeared. In short, they’re both rebellious and love to crowd.
Visiting parks seems to be a common way to spend a holiday in Paris. Suburban residents often drive to the mountains. On a nice day, the lawns of Paris’s riverside parks are always crowded. Suburban residents rely on the mountains and rivers for their livelihood, and even on weekends or holidays, they rarely encounter many people hiking in the mountains.
Finally, having a house party is a vacation style my neighbors love, but I absolutely hate. Today, for example, I could hear three or four different kinds of music coming from different directions: reggae, all from novice bands, French rap, accompanied by children’s high-decibel screams, all you have. So that’s why I chose to go cycling under the blazing sun.
Oh, and one more thing: many French men spend their holidays mainly repairing houses. There are many old houses here built in the last century or even centuries ago, which are very difficult to maintain, and labor is expensive, so many people choose to repair them themselves.
The general impression of the French is that they value quality of life, enjoy life, and are very concerned about work-life balance. On the surface, this certainly seems to be the case. The most common topics of conversation among colleagues are: where did you go this weekend? Where did you go for the May Day holiday? Where are your summer vacation plans? I went to a cabin in the mountains, I ate at a really fancy restaurant, and so on. It’s very much like a live broadcast and likes session on social media or Instagram; everyone is so relaxed and unhurried. Later, I found out that some people save up for half a year to travel abroad during the summer vacation, and some people will buy a large box of frozen lasagna and eat it for a week to save up for a trip to a famous island. Whether someone enjoys life is hard to judge, but having dreams and achieving them is certainly good. Congratulations to them.
Last night, the whole city was celebrating. Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal and advanced to the Champions League final. People downstairs were yelling until very late; congratulations to them!
Today, many people are posting about the new “Pope.” Although I’m not religious, I still congratulate him.
Finally, I wish everyone a happy holiday if they have time off, and a happy weekend if they have one.