PARIS (AP) – The French prime minister proposed on Tuesday that two public holidays were cancelled from the country’s annual calendar – possibly Easter Monday and a day marking the Allied defeat of the Nazis to save money on next year’s budget.
It is one of a large amount of spending cuts by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou in a difficult and potentially doomed budget plan. He believes that removing the two state holidays will bring tax revenue generated by economic activity, with overall savings of about 44 billion euros ($51.3 billion).
President Emmanuel Macron has tasked Bayrou to develop a budget that cuts costs to reduce France’s staggering debt and deficits, while also adding billions of dollars in new defense spending to face what Macron calls an intensified threat from Russia and beyond.
Bayrou questioned the religious importance of Easter Monday. He said the Victory Day, celebrated on May 8, is a month and it has become a rest day for “the veritable Gruyere” or Holly cheese, which includes Mayday and the Catholic Ascension Holiday.
He said the holidays were just suggestions and he was open to other ideas. France currently has 11 official holidays a year.
Macron’s centrist group has no parliamentary majority and must win support from his left and right with opponents to pass this fall’s budget. Beiru’s proposal was just the first step in the budget process, quickly attacked by trade unions and far-right countries, the largest single party in the House of Commons.
Bayrou’s job is unstable and he may be voted if he fails to compromise on his budget.
