Want to get paid for doing virtually nothing? Become a civil servant ... in France!!!

Zoé Shepard, her pen name, confirmed France's worst fears about its "fonctionnaires" – its 5.2 million civil servants – in a book recounting how they compete to see who will hover longest at the coffee machine, draw up sick notes to stay weeks away from the office or while away the day on Facebook.

In Absolument Dé-bor-dé (Absolutely Snowed Under), subtitled How to Make 35 hours Last a Month, nepotism is rife and taxpayer's money wasted, with one local civil servant even signing off his visit to a prostitute as "travel expenses".

After eight years studying in France's top administrative schools, Miss Shepard was taken on as a high-grade civil servant in French local government. She said she was raring to put her knowledge to public use but soon realised her remit was to do as little as possible in the greatest amount of time. More...

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