this French concept of inversion of the relationship between work and free time, theorized since the 19th century

While the Prime Minister praises the “value of work” to save France, speaking of “unlocking” the economy, Paul Lafargue, defender of the working class, urged, in 1880, the French to stop considering laziness as a villain default.

According to Gabriel Attal, during his general policy declaration on Tuesday January 30, “no one claims a right to be lazy in France”. Certainly, few people dare to defend such a right, apart from Sandrine Rousseau, who did not hesitate to tweet, in the wake of the speech, about laziness. and its “major interest in thinking about the future.

But beyond the environmentalist MP, isn’t France the cradle of the right to be lazy? The concept was invented in France by Karl Marx’s son-in-law, Paul Lafargue, in a book entitled thus, published in 1880. This defender of the working class called for overturning the question of the relationship between work and free time. He urged readers to stop viewing laziness as an ugly fault but rather as a politically subversive life project. Laziness like “self-enjoyment”, “a simplicity that adulthood excels at complicating”.

The choice of a more contemplative life, but not necessarily inactive

A few months ago, the New York Times wondered about this, in the midst of a revolt against pension reform. The newspaper wondered if “the French would not be lazy ?”. According to the New York daily, the French taste for idleness comes from a philosophical tradition. If not in the realm of myth, the New York Times recalled that French productivity at work is above average.

It is certain that it takes a lot of ingenuity to always find the least tiring way to accomplish a task. For the philosophical tradition, we must go back to Montaigne, who made the choice to stop his work as a magistrate at the age of 38 in 1570. Montaigne made the choice to renounce active life for a more contemplative life, which gave him time to write his Trials. Laziness does not necessarily mean inactivity, but other types of activities.

Not working does not necessarily mean doing nothing. To be lazy is also to daydream, to stroll, to take the time to live for yourself and not for others. Do not invest in the future but invest in the present, because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. To do this, it is still necessary to have, like Montaigne, the courage, but also the material means to make this choice. While laziness is not necessarily a sin, it is always a luxury. So can we really say like Gabriel Attal that in France “no one in France claims the right to be lazy” ? It would be more accurate to say that few people are lucky enough to be able to claim this right.