Frenchman Sues Former Employer Because His Job Was Too ‘Boring’

A Frenchman is suing his former employer because his job was too “boring,” according to CNN Money.

Frederic Desnard, 44, is suing Interparfums, a perfumer, for 360,000 euros (about $415,000) in damages “for the distress” caused by boredom.

"He suffered from a critical depression and had a traffic accident linked to an epileptic seizure ... he fell into a coma and was on a sick leave," Montasser Charni, Desnard's lawyer, told CNN Money.

Desnard said he was paid 3,500 euros a month (about $4,000), for doing “nothing.” Desnard claims that as the "general service director," he was given odd jobs to do for his colleagues — such as picking up their children — but eventually there was so little to do that he was sent home, and he was laid off several months later.

"It can be defined as a moral exhaustion due to the total lack of caseload, (and) it comes with a feeling of shame of being paid to do nothing," Charni added.

According to CNBC, Desnard characterized his former position as a "descent into hell" and a "nightmare."

Interparfums denied Desnard’s claim in a statement to CNBC, arguing that their former employee previously lost a case of defamation against the company and the jury in that case found that Desnard held "personal animosity against the firm."

According to CNBC, France’s labor laws “are notoriously in favor of the employee,” and critics blame them for the country's high unemployment rate. The nation’s typical work week is 35 hours.