France proposes cutting Easter Monday and May 8 holidays to close €43.8B budget gap. Pensions frozen. Deficit still at 5.4%.

France’s government is running out of options. On July 15, Prime Minister François Bayrou proposed eliminating two national public holidays to help close a €43.8 billion budget gap in the 2026 fiscal plan. The move is part of a broader austerity package aimed at reducing the deficit from 5.4% of GDP to 4.6% next year. Bayrou warned lawmakers that France is “addicted to public spending” and said the country is approaching a debt cliff. The proposal targets Easter Monday and May 8, which commemorates the end of World War II in Europe. Both days would be converted into regular workdays.

The budget plan includes freezing pensions at 2025 levels, capping welfare and healthcare spending, and cutting 3,000 civil servant positions. Another 1,500 jobs will be removed from state-run agencies. Salaries for government employees will be frozen. These cuts follow a surprise tax shortfall and rising interest payments, which are projected to exceed €60 billion in 2026. That figure would make debt servicing the largest single line item in the national budget.

Bayrou’s proposal comes after President Macron’s snap election last year failed to produce a governing majority. The current administration is operating under a fragile coalition, and opposition parties are already threatening a no-confidence vote. If Bayrou fails to push the cuts through parliament, France risks another political breakdown and further credit downgrades. The EU’s fiscal deficit limit is 3%. France is nowhere near it.

NATO spending will rise. Macron confirmed a new defense budget increase on July 13, saying national security must remain untouched. That carve-out has drawn fire from left-wing parties, who argue that social protections are being gutted while military funding expands. Bayrou responded by invoking Greece’s debt collapse and warned that France could face similar consequences if it doesn’t act now.

The final budget bill will be introduced in October. Until then, the debate over holidays, pensions, and spending cuts will dominate the political calendar. France’s generous leave structure has long been a point of national pride. Bayrou is betting that voters will accept fewer days off in exchange for fiscal survival.

Chaos at Bastille Day: a soldier stabbed himself, a horse ran off, and another collapsed — Macron’s expression said it all. pic.twitter.com/xnnONtLctd

— Sprinter Observer (@SprinterObserve) July 15, 2025