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7h ago

Bayrou Proposes Axing Two Public Holidays for €43.8B Austerity Plan

Opposition parties have threatened no-confidence motions ahead of parliament’s detailed vote on the 2026 budget

Image
A view shows a beach with deckchairs and parasols on a sunny summer day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo
A banner which reads "Successive budget cuts' is seen on the ground during a demonstration organised by the CGT Spectacle labour union to denounce budget cuts in the cultural sector, in Avignon, France, July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Manon Cruz

Overview

  • The plan targets €43.8 billion in savings for 2026 to reduce France’s deficit to 4.6 percent of GDP next year and chart a path to the EU-mandated 3 percent limit by 2029.
  • It would eliminate Easter Monday and ory in EuroEurope Day to generate several billion euros through extra working days.
  • Other measures include cutting 3,000 civil service jobs, freezing government wages and welfare payments and capping health spending by €5 billion.
  • Defence spending is exempted from cuts and will rise by €3.5 billion next year at President Macron’s request.
  • Bayrou must win support in a hung parliament or face motions of no confidence when the full budget bill reaches the assembly in October.