Male French bus drivers don skirts to protest shorts ban in heatwave

Bus drivers in the western French city of Nantes turned up to work in skirts yesterday in protest at a ban on wearing shorts despite a searing heatwave currently bearing down on France.

With temperatures hitting record levels throughout the country, and authorities advising people to take urgent measures to avoid heatstroke, the idea of wearing long trousers was simply too much to bear for the drivers.

Denouncing "unacceptable" working conditions in buses that have no air conditioning, half a dozen of them took a stand by wearing skirts for the day.

“Our uniform is not appropriate for these high temperatures. We envy women at moments like this,” Didier Sauvetre a driver from the CFDT union told the local Presse Ocean news site.

"Our managers say shorts are not suitable for our profession. We've opted for provocation by coming in skirts, which are allowed for female drivers."

"In this heatwave, the temperatures are reaching close to 50C behind our windscreens. As we don't have air conditioning in our buses, it's unbearable in trousers," said Gabriel Magner, another union member baring his legs.

“A modern approach would allow us to wear long shorts from time to time. Women drivers can wear skirts, but not the men. It's a form of discrimination."

As France’s labyrinthine labour code makes no mention of shorts, companies can make their own decisions on dress code. However, the labour code does afford workers the right to down tools if they believe their health is in danger due to working conditions.

The bus company Semitan has taken a tough line on shorts, seeing them inappropriate for bus drivers, who in turn argue that nobody can see them in their cabins anyway.

In a small concession last summer, Semitan produced a new line of more breathable “summer trousers” for drivers but shorts are still beyond the pale.

After a day in a skirt, Mr Magner said: "I can tell you that with today's temperatures, it was rather agreeable."