It's never as real or good as you think. France's famous 35 hour workweek only really applies to people who clock in hourly wages. Even there, it's merely the number where overtime kicks in.
If you're a professional/salaried you work as much as the job requires, just like the US.
Yup. I hear about this awesome work-life balance in Europe and then I jump on a call with my Swiss colleagues who are in the office at 6pm working their asses off.
Except if you're not at 35 hour per week you have RTT: basically additional PTO, about 2 weeks (10 days).
This adds up to the legal 5 weeks (25 days), for a total of 7 weeks (35 days). It's pretty common to use half a day here and there, basically reducing your work week.
