SHOCKER: French Minister: Hey, that 35-hour work week isn’t working out so well.

His comments, which echoed similar sentiments from an interview almost exactly a year ago – made a splash across front pages of French newspapers on Friday.

“The left was wrong to think that France would improve if people worked less. It was a false idea,” he said during his closing statement at the conference.

He added that “one shouldn’t ask what your country can do for you, rather what you can do for your country’s economy”.

Supporters say the flagship policy of the French left creates jobs by limiting the amount of time employees are allowed to work, thereby encouraging companies to take on more staff.

But critics at home and abroad say it is an inflexible law that hampers business and creates a bloated workforce.

Yeah, I’m going with #2 here.