法国人真有那么懒吗？

    但是，工作时间长并不一定就意味着美国人的生产效率比法国人高。其中计算生产效率的一种方法就是用国家的GDP除以公民当年的工作总时间。2011年，法国每小时工作所产生的GDP是57美元，美国是60美元。因此，尽管法国人看似工作时间较少，但是相比较而言，他们的生产效率似乎与美国工人旗鼓相当。然而，这个插曲并不能真正展现法国劳工市场所存在的重大问题。2001年-2011年，美国的劳动生产率（以每小时所产生的GDP来定义）增长速度是法国的两倍。这意味着美国将很有可能在未来几年中拉开与法国的差距，除非法国对劳动法进行大刀阔斧地改革。

    如果使用一个更为明确的生产效率衡量标准，那么法国将面临难堪的境地。这个标准便是单位劳动成本（ULC），尤其是制造业的单位劳动成本。单位劳动成本衡量的是单位产出的平均劳动成本。它的计算方法是用总劳动成本除以实际经济产出。从2005年至2011年第一季度，美国制造业的单位劳动成本没有什么变化，而法国增长了8%。它意味着，相比较美国工人，法国制造业工人的效率在降低——而且这个趋势并没有呈现任何减弱的迹象。

    很明显，就这一点而言，在法国做生意不仅会变得越来越困难，而且会变得越来越低效和越来越昂贵。法国新上任的社会党总统弗朗索瓦•奥朗德便在“救治”法国经济方面面临着巨大的压力，但是要实现这一个目标，他需要其党派的帮助。法国总理让-马克•艾罗曾在10月对《巴黎人报》（Le Parisien）透露，35小时每周的法定工作时长为小企业“带来了困难”。此语一出，他马上受到了社会党同僚的谴责。在其他社会党成员的抨击声中，他迅速地改变了措辞。

    虽然未能推翻35小时的周工作时长意味着机遇的丢失，但法国仍可以通过实施急需的劳动改革来挽救失调的经济，提升生产效率，而且这也会降低雇主聘用或解雇员工的难度。法国国会有一项法案可以让公司更为容易地关闭工厂，裁减员工。然而，鉴于社会党与工会的紧密关系，目前还不清楚社会党能在多大程度上支持这项法案。奥朗德和艾罗应齐心协力劝说工会，如果不进行改革，值得挽救的工作岗位可能将会不复存在。

    泰勒表示，这正是他试图通过信件所传达的内容。泰勒向《费加罗报》（Le Figaro）透露，他并不打算通过信函来侮辱法国或法国人民；他只是希望表达他对工会的不满。

    泰勒说，“我热爱法国。我喜欢法国女人。我并没有忘记拉法耶特曾拯救过我们。但是法国人有必要意识到：如若他们不改变习惯，他们的生活方式可能将就此不保。”

    译者：翔

    But working a lot more doesn't necessarily mean that Americans are more productive than their French counterparts. One way to gauge productivity is to take a nation's GDP and divide it by the total number of hours its citizens slaved away that year. In 2011, the GDP for each hour worked was $57 in France and $60 in the U.S. Therefore, it appears that while the French work less, they seem to be producing just as much as their U.S. counterparts, on a relative basis. But this snapshot doesn't really show the big problem with the French labor market. Labor productivity, as defined as GDP per hour worked, in the U.S. from 2001 to 2011 grew twice as fast as it did in France. That means the U.S. will most likely widen its lead over France in the years to come unless it makes some big changes to its labor laws.

    There is a more targeted productivity metric that paints a bad picture for France: unit labor costs (ULC), specifically the ULC of the manufacturing industry. ULC measures the average cost of labor per unit of output. It is calculated as the ratio of total labor costs relative to real economic output. From 2005 to the first quarter of 2011, the ULC in the U.S. manufacturing industry was flat, while it rose 8% in France. That means that French manufacturing workers have become less efficient relative to their American counterparts -- a trend which shows no sign of abating.

    It is pretty clear at this point that doing business in France is not only getting more difficult, it is also getting less efficient and more expensive. France's new Socialist President, Francois Hollande, is under extreme pressure to "fix" the French economy, but he will need help from his party to make it happen. Jean-Marc Ayrault, France's prime minister, came under fire from his fellow Socialists when he told Le Parisien newspaper in October that the 35-hour work week has "caused difficulties" for small businesses. He quickly recanted the statement as other Socialist party members blasted him.

    Failing to overhaul the 35-hour work week would be a missed opportunity, but France could still help its ailing economy and boost its productivity by passing much needed labor reform, which would give employers the ability to hire and fire workers more easily than they can today. There is a bill in the French parliament that would make it easier for companies to shutter plants and lay off workers during tough times. It is unclear how the Socialists will be able to support the bill given how close they are to the unions. Hollande and Ayrault should work together to convince the unions that without this reform then there may not be any jobs left worth saving.

    That is what Taylor said he was trying to convey in his letter. Speaking with Le Figaro newspaper, Taylor said it was not his intention to insult France or the French people with his letter; he simply wanted to express his frustration with the unions.

    "I love France. I like French women. I have not forgotten that LaFayette has saved us," Taylor said. "But the French need to understand: Their lifestyle will disappear if they do not change their habits."