Elderly ignored again

The week's news at a glance.

Paris

French people stayed home in overwhelming numbers on Pentecost Monday this week, in defiance of what was supposed to be a “day of solidarity” for the elderly. The Monday after the Christian festival of Pentecost has traditionally been a national holiday in France. But this year, the government asked the French to work without pay, with employers putting the day’s wages into a fund to buy air conditioners for nursing homes. The measure was intended to prevent a catastrophe like the one that occurred in the summer of 2003, when some 15,000 elderly people, abandoned by vacationing relatives, died in a heat wave. The day of unpaid work proved unpopular, however, with more than half of all workers staying home.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us