French workers are finding it more and more difficult to take vacations during the summer and other times of the year. With unemployment at 10 percent and travel costs rising, nearly 40 percent of the French no longer take an extended trip away from home, a trend threatening the summer ritual that has symbolized the good life of the French employee.
See "Vacation Unaffordable for Some in France", Associated Press, The New York Times, August 17, 2005