French people tend to feel less defined as individuals by what they do, how much they make and their career success. So, once passed a certain threshold of income, most French people will favour spending time with family, leisure, cultural activities, having time for food and friends etc (The quality aspect I referred to earlier). Of course, keeping that balance perfect varies from individual to individual and is easier said than done, you can sometimes end up in careers that offer limited work-life balance. But, to summarize, while someone in the US bragging about work 100 hours a week making tons of money but never seeing their family or having outside of work hobbies could consider him/herself a success, a French person would probably not call that person a failure but would also not envy him/her at all.
