Every day when I get to work the place is a mess. Unlike in the US, where the cleaning crew comes in at night to clean up the office, here in France they clean during working hours. Matter of fact, I usually beat them to work. I throw away my morning coffee cup on top of yesterday's trash. They arrive around 9am and clean as you are working. You have to pick up the stuff on your desk so they can wipe it down. You have to pick up your feet as they swab the deck. You do this whether you are on the phone or in the middle of a meeting.
It's only a minor annoyance but things like this make me wonder why. This is similar to other experiences I've had. Restaurants open their doors at 9am for breakfast and take your order but nothing is prepped, so you wait forever for your food. Well, what do you expect when the cooks arrived at 9am, or sometimes later? First explanation that pops to mind is that the French are lazy, but that's an emotional reaction, not an analysis. Second explanation - workers rights are paramount in France. Why should the cleaning crews and restaurant workers come in earlier than the rest of us? Equality hand in hand with inefficiency. Of course, there are exceptions. There would be an uprising if, upon arriving at the boulangerie for the morning baguette, Parisians found the bakers pouring the flour into the mixing bowls.
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