[algoghostf]

This is not true. Government workers or factory workers can limit to 35h (with some salary loss or days off loss), but else than that (especially in tech) it is very competitive and working 50 hours+/week is not exceptionl.

[kgwgk]

> 50 hours+/week is not exceptionl.

https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI0000...

Au cours d'une même semaine, la durée maximale hebdomadaire de travail est de quarante-huit heures.

https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI0000...

La durée hebdomadaire de travail calculée sur une période quelconque de douze semaines consécutives ne peut dépasser quarante-quatre heures, sauf dans les cas prévus aux articles L. 3121-23 à L. 3121-25.

[Saline9515]

Everyone is "forfait cadre", which allow them to work with no practical time limit since they don't log their time spent at work. https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F19261

[kgwgk]

It seems that 20% of employees in the private sector are "cadres" and half of them are on "forfait jours". That makes around 10% of the private sector employees working 218 days per year without the 48/44 weekly hour limits. It's more than I thought but I doubt that many of them work more than 10 hours per day. Whether that's "exceptional" or not is a matter of definition, of course.

[psychoslave]

What do you mean with work more than 10h/day for intellectual work? You don't stop to think the moment you are away from the production machine. And the exact opposite can often happen: you go away from the computer/board/paper/office, make a walk trying to wander at something else as far as you can stear consciousness, and then the solutions/ideas land in your mind.

[kgwgk]

You’re not wrong but what did the commenter above meant with “50 hours+/week”? Weeks have three times as many hours. Years also have many more than 218 days.

Anyway I found an official survey saying that 40% of them work more than 50 hours per week (but fewer weeks than regular employees) so I guess it’s not so rare (around one private sector employee in twenty).

[Xmd5a]

Used to work 70h/week on average, like every week of the year. I don't think I ever wworked less than 50h in a week

[greenavocado]

In the USA most software engineers are FLSA-exempt ("computer employee" exemption).

No overtime pay regardless of hours worked.

No legal maximum hours per day/week.

No mandatory rest periods/breaks (federally).

The US approach places the burden on the individual employee to negotiate protections or prove misclassification, while French law places the burden on the employer to comply with strict, state-enforced standards.

The French Labor Code (Code du travail) applies to virtually all employees in France, regardless of sector (private tech company, government agency, non-profit, etc.), unless explicitly exempted. Software engineering is not an exempted profession. Maximum hour limits are absolute. The caps of 44 hours per week, 48 hours average over 12 weeks, and 10/12 hours per day are legal maximums for almost all employees. Tech companies cannot simply ignore them. The requirements for employee consent, strict annual limits (usually max 220 hours/year), premium pay (+25%/+50%), and compensatory rest apply to software engineers just like any other employee.

"Cadre" Status is not an exemption. Many software engineers are classified as Cadres (managers/professionals) but this status does not automatically exempt them from working time rules.

Cadre au forfait jours (Days-Based Framework): This is common for senior engineers/managers. They are exempt from tracking daily/weekly hours but must still have a maximum of 218 work days per year (including weekends, holidays, and RTT days). Their annual workload must not endanger their health. 80-hour weeks would obliterate this rest requirement and pose severe health risks, making it illegal. Employers must monitor their workload and health.

Cadre au forfait heures (Hours-Based Framework) or Non-Cadre: These employees are fully subject to the standard daily/weekly/hourly limits and overtime rules. 80+ hours/week is blatantly illegal.

The tech industry, especially gaming/startups, sometimes tries to import unsustainable "crunch" cultures. This is illegal in France.

EDIT: Fixed work days

[algoghostf]

I think there is theory and there is real life. As tech worker, in 20 years career, in private sector, I have always been on forfait jours, working more than 10h/day on average, during many years weekend included. I never got paid extra hours. So I get what you say about the perception and the law. The French law is protective (i.e if I can prove that in a court I'll get my extra hours paid for sure but my career would end. Period.

[Xmd5a]

>I'll get my extra hours paid for sure but my career would end.

Are you working in an area that is that specific ? I'm French but I'm naive.

[Saline9515]

Some State services, such as the "Trésor", which oversees French economic policies, do not respect this at all, and require 12h work days most of the year. The churn is enormous, workers staying there less than a year on average.

[kgwgk]

> 218 rest days per year (including weekends, holidays, and RTT days)

Wouldn’t that be nice, 218 rest days? It’s 218 working days.