Now here’s a conundrum. Is it possible to maximize your returns with the minimum of effort? According to a runaway bestselling book in France, it is.

Bonjour Laziness (in the US), Hello Laziness (in the UK) by a French economist, Corinne Maier, attempts to dethrone all those American business gurus who entreat hard work and perseverance. To prove it she’s written this very slim volume, printed in large type, which … well … sort of proves her point … up to a point.

A senior French newspaper correspondent in London recently said that 25% of the French are still Marxists. He believed this would shock the Anglo-Saxon world. Well, it shocked me, I can tell you. Before, I’d only half-suspected it was true. This little book confirms it.

Ms Maier is a senior economist with the private utility, Electricité de France, which is nothing like an American corporation. She believes that almost no work is done in France except by a small minority of drones, who work their socks off. She even likens them to slaves. Judging by the length of her book, Corinne isn’t one of them.

“Business is dead”, she cries, more in hope than certainty. Her prescription for the helots? “Just play the part of the model worker, say the right words and do the right things, but without actually getting involved.” It reminds me of those student “revolutionaries” way back in 1960’s Paris who screamed, “We have no policies, only demands!” Is it really that bad in Chirac’s France?

But like all French anti-Americanism, you have to read between the lines to catch the envy. What do we make of : “companies aren’t funky or exciting. They’re boring ….”? Tried Google, Ms Maier?

This book will confirm every American and British prejudice against France, as well as French visceral dislike of the Anglo-Saxon business model. But, phew, it’s an eye-opening read. If someone like her can feel so badly about us, what on earth do all those Marxist drones think?