The White House spoke out in favor of the French lifestyle Thursday after Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush mocked the country for its short work week.
“I’ll bet you that Gov. Bush is just jealous,” a smiling White House press secretary Josh Earnest told a French reporter who inquired about the controversy.
Asked if President Obama supports the French lifestyle, Mr. Earnest replied, “It certainly seems to be a quality of life that many French people have warmly embraced, as they should.” He added that Mr. Obama has enjoyed his visits to France.
During a Republican presidential debate Wednesday night, Mr. Bush scolded rival Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida for missing many votes this year in Washington and accused him of engaging in a three-day “French work week.”
The French ambassador to the U.S., Gerard Araud, took to Twitter to defend his country.
“A French work week of 3 days? No but a pregnancy paid leave of 16 weeks yes! And proud of it” he wrote.
Mr. Araud also tweeted, “France also has higher labor productivity than the United States,” and “In any country, electoral campaigns offer the opportunity for a lot of bombastic nonsense. Let’s be indulgent.”
Mr. Araud said the French work an average of 39.6 hours per week, while Germans work an average of 39.2 hours.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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