Overview

• Prime Minister François Bayrou has proposed abolishing Easter Monday and the May 8 holiday to generate roughly €5 billion in additional annual revenue.
• The broader €44 billion package aims to reduce France’s public deficit from 5.8% of GDP in 2024 to 4.6% by 2026 through freezes on social benefits and cuts to civil service roles.
• President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to boost defense spending by about €7 billion in 2026–27 has pushed the government’s overall consolidation target higher.
• Bayrou plans to block pension and tax indexation and not replace one in three retiring civil servants as part of efforts to achieve significant budgetary savings.
• Major unions have called for street mobilizations and both Rassemblement National and La France Insoumise are preparing a censure motion that could topple the minority government.