chômer

To be unemployed or, more broadly, to be idle and not working — jour chômé, one of the most common derived phrases, means a day off work, especially an official public holiday.

• Il chôme depuis la fermeture de l'usine. — He's been out of work since the factory closed.
• Le 1er mai est le seul jour légalement chômé et payé en France. — May 1st is the only day that's legally a paid day off in France.
• On ne chôme pas dans cette entreprise, même le week-end. — No one sits idle at this company, not even on weekends.

Chômer means to be unemployed or idle, not to relax or take a break on purpose — don't confuse it with se détendre or se reposer, which describe deliberate rest rather than being out of work.

• expression "Jour chômé" — A widely used everyday French phrase for a paid day off from work; by French law only May 1st (Labour Day) is officially both chômé and payé, even though several other jours fériés are commonly treated as days off too.