French PM wants to cut two public holidays
(MENAFN) France's Prime Minister François Bayrou has proposed cutting two public holidays as part of a 2026 budget proposal to slash overall spending while also increasing defence expenses.
Bayrou suggested axing Easter Monday and 8 May, a day that commemorates the Allied victory at the end of World War Two in Europe.
He said the various bank holidays had turned the month of May into a gruyère – a Swiss cheese full of holes – although he added he was open to other suggestions.
Bayrou runs the risk of having his budget voted down in parliament in the autumn, which could eventually cause his government to collapse. But on Tuesday he stressed that France – the eurozone's second economy – was "in mortal danger" of being crushed by debt.
Standing in front of a lectern emblazoned with the words "The moment of truth", Bayrou spoke for over an hour outlining a series of daring measures that he said should bring the annual budget deficit under control.
These include a freeze on public spending for next year, ending tax breaks for the wealthy and a reduction in the number of civil servants.
The budget also needs to factor in President Emmanuel Macron's call for France's defence spending to rise by $3.85 billion USD next year and then by a further $3.3 billion USD in 2027.
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