Paris: France Prime Minister François Bayrou has proposed cutting two national public holidays, Easter Monday and May 8, as part of the 2026 budget.
The proposal comes alongside sweeping austerity measures, including a freeze on public spending, cuts to civil service numbers, and scrapping tax breaks for the wealthy. Bayrou, who only took office in December, argued the nation was at risk of being crushed by debt, warning that France must slash more than €40 billion ($46.4 billion) to stay financially afloat.
Bayrou cited the month of May, known for its scattered bank holidays, as a productivity vacuum, comparing it to a ‘Swiss cheese full of holes’. While stressing he was open to other suggestions, Bayrou said the cancellation of Easter Monday, which he called devoid of religious significance, and the historically symbolic 8 May would increase national output.
But the proposal drew swift condemnation across the political spectrum. The far-right National Rally (RN) party called it an attack on both workers and France’s wartime memory. Green party leader Marine Tondelier lamented the erasure of the holiday that marks victory over Nazism. Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) demanded Bayrou’s resignation, while Marine Le Pen vowed to bring down his government if the cuts proceed.
The budget must also account for President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to ramp up defence spending. Bayrou maintains that cutting holidays is just basic arithmetic in the face of a deficit currently at 5.8 percent of GDP.
France’s goal is to bring the deficit below 4.6 percent next year and under 3 percent by 2029. But with a fractured parliament, Bayrou faces the real risk of a no-confidence vote this autumn, a fate that ended his predecessor Michel Barnier’s government just months ago.
A second government collapse in less than a year would force President Macron into difficult territory, either appointing a new prime minister or forming a technocratic government, both unpopular choices with low public approval and increasing pressure for his early resignation.
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