????

????但是，工作時間長并不一定就意味著美國人的生產效率比法國人高。其中計算生產效率的一種方法就是用國家的GDP除以公民當年的工作總時間。2011年，法國每小時工作所產生的GDP是57美元，美國是60美元。因此，盡管法國人看似工作時間較少，但是相比較而言，他們的生產效率似乎與美國工人旗鼓相當。然而，這個插曲并不能真正展現法國勞工市場所存在的重大問題。2001年-2011年，美國的勞動生產率（以每小時所產生的GDP來定義）增長速度是法國的兩倍。這意味著美國將很有可能在未來幾年中拉開與法國的差距，除非法國對勞動法進行大刀闊斧地改革。

????如果使用一個更為明確的生產效率衡量標準，那么法國將面臨難堪的境地。這個標準便是單位勞動成本（ULC），尤其是制造業的單位勞動成本。單位勞動成本衡量的是單位產出的平均勞動成本。它的計算方法是用總勞動成本除以實際經濟產出。從2005年至2011年第一季度，美國制造業的單位勞動成本沒有什么變化，而法國增長了8%。它意味著，相比較美國工人，法國制造業工人的效率在降低——而且這個趨勢并沒有呈現任何減弱的跡象。

????很明顯，就這一點而言，在法國做生意不僅會變得越來越困難，而且會變得越來越低效和越來越昂貴。法國新上任的社會黨總統弗朗索瓦?奧朗德便在“救治”法國經濟方面面臨著巨大的壓力，但是要實現這一個目標，他需要其黨派的幫助。法國總理讓-馬克?艾羅曾在10月對《巴黎人報》（Le Parisien）透露，35小時每周的法定工作時長為小企業“帶來了困難”。此語一出，他馬上受到了社會黨同僚的譴責。在其他社會黨成員的抨擊聲中，他迅速地改變了措辭。

????雖然未能推翻35小時的周工作時長意味著機遇的丟失，但法國仍可以通過實施急需的勞動改革來挽救失調的經濟，提升生產效率，而且這也會降低雇主聘用或解雇員工的難度。法國國會有一項法案可以讓公司更為容易地關閉工廠，裁減員工。然而，鑒于社會黨與工會的緊密關系，目前還不清楚社會黨能在多大程度上支持這項法案。奧朗德和艾羅應齊心協力勸說工會，如果不進行改革，值得挽救的工作崗位可能將會不復存在。

????泰勒表示，這正是他試圖通過信件所傳達的內容。泰勒向《費加羅報》（Le Figaro）透露，他并不打算通過信函來侮辱法國或法國人民；他只是希望表達他對工會的不滿。

????泰勒說，“我熱愛法國。我喜歡法國女人。我并沒有忘記拉法耶特曾拯救過我們。但是法國人有必要意識到：如若他們不改變習慣，他們的生活方式可能將就此不保。”

????譯者：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."