Khaberni -The French Prime Minister François Bayrou has proposed canceling two public holidays and freezing most of the public spending as part of measures revealed on Tuesday to cut the budget by 43.8 billion euros ($50.88 billion).
Bayrou's plan includes freezing spending on social welfare and tax brackets in 2026 at the 2025 levels, without even adjusting them for inflation, a move that was quickly criticized by politicians from the left and the far right. However, defense spending will increase.
Last year, France recorded a budget deficit of 5.8% of gross domestic product, nearly double the European Union's official limit of 3% of GDP, as a political crisis hampered four successive governments from addressing the unexpected drop in tax revenue and the increase in spending for a second year.
Bayrou said that there are simply too many public holidays in May, and that the French need to return to work in that month, adding that this would mean additional revenue amounting to several billion euros for the state, as everyone would work more and produce more.
Marine Le Pen, the leader of the right-wing National Rally party, said on the X platform, "This government prefers to attack the French people, the workers, and the pensioners rather than eliminate waste."
She added, "If François Bayrou does not revise his plans, we will vote on a motion of no confidence against him."
The leftist parties also denounced Bayrou's proposal. Olivier Faure, the leader of the Socialist Party, which helped Bayrou pass the 2025 budget, said, "This is not a recovery plan but a demolition plan for the French social model."
(The dollar = 0.8608 euro)
