Overview

• Lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies opened a general debate on the bill, while the floor vote was postponed from Thursday to early next week.
• The proposal has backing from all parties in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s governing coalition.
• The measure would restore an observance suppressed in 1977 during austerity, setting October 4 as a national holiday.
• The Constitutional Affairs Committee approved the bill unanimously on September 12.
• Debate continues over potential fiscal costs, with comparisons to other European countries and recent French proposals to cut public holidays.