Hollande Bids Adieu to EU Vacation Culture as Crisis Lingers

European leaders are saying goodbye to the extended vacations that were a continental norm until the global crisis broke out in high summer six years ago.

As the region’s economy labors to solidify its recovery, French President Francois Hollande has barely taken any time off and ordered his cabinet members to stay within commuting distance of Paris. Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta ensured that either he or his deputy would be in Rome all through August. And in Greece, the epicenter of the euro crisis, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras took just four days off and even then found time to fire the head of the state asset sales fund.