"That's a really bad idea": François Bayrou's idea of removing two public holidays divides the French

The Prime Minister proposed on Tuesday the abolition of two new public holidays, citing Easter Monday and May 8th as examples to reduce the deficit and save €40 billion.

This is one of François Bayrou's strong announcements. During his presentation of the 2026 budget, the Prime Minister proposed "that two public holidays be eliminated for the entire country." He cited "Easter Monday, which has no religious significance, and May 8," while saying he was "ready to accept other ideas."

French people we met in Paris are not convinced by this announcement. Gaëlla even finds it completely incomprehensible: "I just saw it on social media and I almost commented on it because I was so angry!" This hotel saleswoman believes it is a very poor budgetary choice. "Why us, 'the little people' again?" she says, confiding that she is taking advantage of these public holidays to spend "time with my family", take "time for myself" or go "into the countryside" .

For Pierre, an executive at a large CAC 40 company, this proposed abolition isn't really a problem. "There are too many public holidays in France, especially when they fall on Thursdays or Tuesdays, and we're off to build bridges, even viaducts! Many people already have ten days of reduced working hours, five weeks of paid vacation, not to mention seniority leave... ", he suggests. However, he doesn't approve of the suggested dates: "I think August 15th should have been eliminated. Easter Monday is more symbolic. I have the impression that few people pay attention to Assumption Day..."

And how can François Bayrou want to sacrifice May 8, the day of Nazi Germany's surrender? asks Maher, a renewables executive. "I don't know which advisor chose that date, but it was still necessary to choose a day other than May 8, which is the day of the victory over Nazism. That's really a very bad idea."

And rather than removing new public holidays, he believes that everyone should respect the day of solidarity established at Pentecost more than twenty years ago.