60 Minutes jumps on the French-bashing bandwagon a few years late

I had heard that 60 Minutes had declined, but the hit piece on France and holidays over the weekend really was sad. All of the classic stereotypes were hit, often joined by laughs or Laura Logan's annoying repetition of exactly what the person just said, just in case you are really slow and missed it the first time around. As a South African, where they have legally mandated minimum annual vacation (21 days) plus living in the UK, where they also have minimum days of vacation (20 days), plus attending school in France, I'm not sure how she manages to show shock and surprise during the discussion because the only shocking aspect is that American workers have been bamboozled into taking so little. Especially as US companies trim benefits to employees and executives shower themselves with riches, I wonder when people will wake up and demand some down time with their friends and family.

Across the EU people work hard and they take vacation, much more than in the US, so what's the big deal? Italians average more days of holiday compared to the French and Germans and Scandinavians are no slouches either yet businesses seem to be running just fine. Maybe work schedules need to be tweaked over here, but they need a complete overhaul in the US. I say this as a person who took two days of vacation in the five years before arriving in France but have since seen the light and it sure isn't the light of my laptop on button. Work-life balance is good for everyone.