The 35-hour week (durée légale du travail) was established in France by the Loi Aubry II of January 2000 and enshrined in Article L3121-27 of the Code du travail. It sets 35 hours as the statutory reference working time per week, not an absolute ceiling. Hours worked beyond 35 per week are classified as heures supplémentaires (overtime) and must be compensated either by a wage premium (currently a minimum of 25 per cent for the first eight overtime hours and 50 per cent beyond that) or by equivalent compensatory rest, subject to collective agreement provisions.
Annual working-time accounts and agreements (forfait jours) are widely used, particularly for cadres (executive employees). Under a forfait jours arrangement, an executive's working time is measured in days per year rather than weekly hours, and the 35-hour reference does not directly apply. The standard benchmark is 218 working days per year, but this figure can be adjusted by a convention collective or company agreement within statutory limits.
For employers, compliance with French working-time rules requires accurate time-recording systems, careful management of overtime budgets and quotas (the maximum legal overtime quota per year is 220 hours absent a collective agreement setting a different limit), and awareness of sectoral derogations. Non-compliance exposes the employer to URSSAF recalculation of contributions on undeclared overtime premiums.