“work-obsessed northern neighbours”
- The people of Northern France aren’t lazy, but calling them ‘work-obsessed’ is an encroachment on sheer reality.
I believe it was a reference to the residents of countries north of France, not the northernites of France.
I took that to mean northern Europeans. But I may be wrong. I’ve never been there but I’ve heard how meals are so leisurely. People stop at lunch time to enjoy the day. I cannot imagine that. If I take a lunch period I’m all keyed up to get back to work.