The French TV news in August focus on the following topics, that come up every day: the weather, especially in popular vacation areas; the traffic on main highways to and from popular vacation spots; and various news related to vacation. The other day the report was about professionals on vacation: the majority now bring their laptop with them and stay connected to the internet throughout their vacation. Cybercafes and areas with free wifis are booming. The latest must of private beaches on the riviera: free wifi available on the beach. 30 percent of those professionals feel pressure from their company to stay on top of their emails even while they are away. One interviewee talked about how hard it is to fight against an addiction to internet connection. Unions are becoming interested in the topic. There was a brief mention of a man who sued his company and who, based on his phone bills, got paid for hundreds of hours overtime.
During my stay in Europe I was much more impressed with how *little* people stayed connected on vacation, and how very few places (especially within Germany) provided any sort of internet access. If there was any connectivity at all, it was typically something in the hotel lobby.
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