Les 35 heures en France : pourquoi sont-elles toujours en débat ?

A quarter of a century after their votes, the Aubry laws on the "35 hours" in France remain at the centre of lively debates and controversies. Ideological positions and theoretical arguments find their roots in the 40-hour workweek law of the Popular Front in 1936 and then the denunciation of the spirit of enjoyment by the Vichy regime. But if political discourses are polarised, the policy measures implemented by the right or the left when in power are much more ambiguous. Even if they have been set up according to a neo-classical approach, the Aubry laws nevertheless remain the most ambitious working time policy since 1945 in France. Not only do they entail a reduction in collective working hours, but also a rethinking of working time, accompanied by numerous innovations offering flexibility to companies and, more rarely, to employees. Their application in workplaces in both the private and public sectors is extremely heterogeneous. By their scale (except for teachers who do not benefit from them), the "35 hours" have had an impact on non-working time, reinforcing social and gender gradients. Despite the persistence of fierce controversies, the economic record is less marked, with moderate job creations/savings and probably limited impact on French competitiveness and public finances.