The French public have overwhelmingly opposed plans to rescue the Government’s finances by abolishing two national holidays. Prime Minister François Bayrou proposed the sacrifice of France’s Easter Monday and May 8 holidays as part of a wider effort to restore public finances. The official suggested that forcing citizens to work on the two days, of the 11 holidays observed by the French public every year, could save €4.2 billion and contribute to wider savings of €44 billion he hopes to achieve in the 2026 Budget.
However, polling carried out by Odoxa and published in Le Parisien this week shows a stark contrast in public opinion, with 84% overwhelmingly opposed to the proposals. They were almost equally against the abolition of just one holiday, with 83% expressing similar hostility to the idea. “The French don’t want it,” Gaël Sliman, president of Odoxa said. “They value their work-life balance, and this measure is seen as an act of violence and a prejudice.”
The study, based on 1,004 people representative of the French population over 18, also found that 80% considered the abolition of public holidays to be a “disguised tax” and 66% did “not see the link between working more and improving France’s debts and deficits”.
The backlash comes at an already-precious time for Bayrou, as his government faces a vote of no confidence over its budget plans from the left and Rassemblement National.
France’s financial position has raised major alarm bells after its deficit hit 5.8% of GDP in 2024, nearly double the 3% limit set by EU rules.
On Tuesday, interior minister Bruno Retailleau warned that the no confidence vote could bring down Bayrou’s government, telling colleagues that it would be “irresponsible to plunge the country into a major financial crisis”.
“Voting for the fall of the government would be voting against France’s interests,” he added.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise party, has also called on President Emmanuel Macron to step down if Bayrou loses the confidence vote in the National Assembly on September 8.
“We must prevent Macron from appointing a prime minister for the third time who would pursue the same policies,” he said. “That is why he must be removed from office. Macron is chaos.”
The Force Ouvrière trade union said that it would not negotiate on the public holiday abolition proposal and would take legal action against his plans to renegotiate unemployment insurance. The union is expected to respond to the government’s cost-cutting scheme in full by the end of the month.
