French Prime Minister François Bayrou has proposed scrapping two public holidays as part of an austerity plan for the 2026 budget, saying it would cut spending and increase defense spending, the BBC reported.
Bayrou is calling for the cancellation of Easter Monday and the 8th of May, the day the Allies celebrate their victory in World War II. He said the various public holidays had turned May into a Swiss cheese, but also added that he was open to other proposals.
There is a risk that the French parliament will reject Bayrou’s budget plan, which could put the entire government at risk. Bayrou warned on the 15th of July that France, the eurozone’s second-largest economy, could be strangled by debt. In an hour-long speech, the prime minister outlined a series of bold measures that could curb the budget deficit. They included freezing public spending, eliminating tax breaks for the wealthy and cutting public sector workers. At the same time, the budget should take into account French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for an increase in the defense budget.
Of all the options, the abolition of the holiday has attracted the most attention.
Bayrou declared that Easter Monday has no religious significance and that the country should work and produce more during this time. The statement immediately made headlines and also drew condemnation. The far-right National Rally party called it an attack on French history and workers, while the leader of the Green Party condemned the idea of removing the date celebrating the victory over Nazism from the list of holidays.
After the speech, answering questions from journalists, Bayrou pointed out that his proposal was elementary mathematics and said that to continue moving forward, France need to find more than 40 billion euros. He thus referred to the need to make a budget cut of 43.8 billion euros to avoid a larger debt that is growing by five thousand euros every second. The French government plans to reduce the budget deficit to 4.6% next year instead of the previous 5.8%.
Bayrou’s position is currently threatened by the budget issue that brought down the previous government. The predecessor of the current prime minister proposed even harsher ways to reduce the budget deficit, and failed a vote of no confidence. Even now, far-right and far-left parties are threatening to overthrow the prime minister.
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