In a bold push to curb rising public debt and meet new defence targets, French Prime Minister, François Bayrou, has stirred controversy by proposing the elimination of two traditional public holidays as part of the 2026 budget blueprint.
Bayrou recommended scrapping Easter Monday and 8 May, the day France marks the Allied victory in Europe at the end of World War Two.
He described May’s calendar of frequent holidays as resembling “a gruyère, a Swiss cheese full of holes,” though he remained open to alternative solutions.
The prime minister’s proposal comes at a politically delicate moment. With his budget set for a parliamentary vote in the autumn, Bayrou faces the risk of rejection, a move that could topple his government.
Speaking with urgency on Tuesday from behind a lectern marked “The moment of truth,” Bayrou warned that France was “in mortal danger” due to its ballooning debt. In a speech lasting over an hour, he laid out a slate of sweeping fiscal reforms aimed at controlling the budget deficit.
Key measures include freezing public expenditure in 2026, ending tax breaks for high earners, and reducing the civil service workforce.
The budget must also accommodate President Emmanuel Macron’s call for a €3.5 billion boost in defence spending next year, followed by an additional €3 billion in 2027.
Yet it was Bayrou’s suggestion to abolish the two public holidays that dominated headlines.
Defending the move, he argued that Easter Monday “has no religious significance” and urged the nation to increase productivity.
Opposition voices quickly mobilised. The far-right National Rally slammed the idea as a direct assault on both French heritage and workers’ rights.
Meanwhile, Marine Tondelier of the Green party criticised the proposed removal of 8 May, a day honouring France’s victory over Nazism.
Pressed by journalists, Bayrou stood firm, “If we want to stay on course, we need to find more than €40bn,” he said, referencing the €43.8 billion gap the government aims to close. He highlighted the urgency by noting France’s debt “grows by €5,000 every second.”
Bayrou said the government was determined to reduce the deficit from 5.8% of GDP last year to below 4.6% in 2026, and under 3% by 2029.
Appointed just last December, Bayrou took over from Michel Barnier, whose own stint as prime minister ended abruptly after his aggressive budget plan triggered a historic no-confidence vote, the first to unseat a French government since 1962.
Bayrou’s administration now faces similar threats. Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the far-left France Unbowed called for his ouster, while RN leader Marine Le Pen declared that Bayrou was choosing to “attack the French, workers and pensioners, instead of slashing wastage,” vowing to bring down his government “if he doesn’t revise his plans.”
Despite these looming dangers, Bayrou insisted on Tuesday that his administration is committed to reform. “We wanted to change things,” he said, “despite the risk” of another no-confidence vote.
Since last year’s surprise snap elections, the French National Assembly has been locked in a political impasse, split into three rival factions unwilling to cooperate. Another election could reproduce the same gridlock.
If the government falls, President Macron will be left with few attractive options: either appoint a new prime minister or install an unelected technocratic cabinet, both of which are likely to meet fierce resistance in parliament.
With Macron’s approval ratings now languishing below 25%, calls for his early resignation have grown louder, though the president remains adamant he will serve out his term through to 2027.
