French prime minister calls for scrapping of two public holidays in austerity budget
Among other measures he called on the French to "work more" and suggested abolishing two of France's 11 annual public holidays (or 13 for people who live in the historic Alsace Lorraine region).
He called on the "whole nation to work more" and said he would be suggesting the abolition of two
jours fériés
- as examples, he cited May 8th (VE Day) and Easter Monday, but insisted "these are proposals".
According to a Senate report published last September, cancelling one public holiday would generate €2.4 billion a year.
Advertisement
At present France has 11 public holidays a year ranging from the secular such as the July 14th
Fête nationale
and VE Day to the historic Catholic holidays like Ascension and Assumption.
Those living in the Alsace Lorraine area get two extra holidays - St Stephens Day on December 26th and Good Friday (the Friday before Easter) - for historic reasons relating to their change in ownership between France and Germany.
The most recent public holiday to be scrapped was Pentecost - which was axed as an official '
jour férié
' in 2005 but now
has an ambiguous status
in which some workers get the day off and others don't.
The idea of scrapping a holiday in order to save money was considered but rejected by Bayrou's predecessor Michel Barnier.
Bayrou was presenting the outline of his plan to save €40 billion - the debates on the Budget will then begin in parliament in the autumn with the state spending plan normally passed before the parliamentary session ends for Christmas.
The public holiday changes would be part of the full Budget presented to parliament for debate.
However MPs could bring down another government if enough of them vote instead for a motion of no-confidence in Bayrou over the spending plans.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
French court orders release of Lebanese militant who killed diplomats
A French court ordered the conditional release of a Lebanese pro-Palestinian communist militant on Thursday after more than 40 years in detention in France. Georges Ibrahim Abdallah was serving a life sentence for complicity in the murders of two diplomats, one American and one Israeli, in Paris in 1982. The Paris Court of Appeal ruled Abdallah, who has been imprisoned in France since his arrest in 1984, can be released next Friday on the condition that he leaves France and never returns, judicial authorities said. His lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, told reporters that Abdallah wants to return to Lebanon upon his release and remains "a communist militant who supports the Palestinian struggle and fights against the invasion of his country by Israel." He described Abdallah as the longest-held political prisoner in Europe. "He has never renounced his convictions," Chalanset said, adding that US authorities had lobbied the Paris court to reject the 74-year-old's release request. "So it's also a political victory, even after nearly 41 years in detention, against the United States." 'Political scandal' Abdallah's lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset welcomed the decision, saying "It's both a judicial victory and a political scandal that he was not released earlier." A French court ordered Abdallah's release in November last year, conditional on him leaving France. But anti-terror prosecutors opposed the move, arguing that he had not changed his political views and appealed the decision which was subsequently suspended. A verdict was supposed to have been delivered in February, but a Paris appeals court postponed a decision, saying it was unclear if Abdallah could prove he had paid compensation to the plaintiffs, something he has consistently refused to do. Abdallah has always refused to acknowledge his involvement in the assassinations of the diplomats, describing them instead as "acts of resistance" against "Israeli and American oppression" and considering himself a political prisoner. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military US military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov. At the last hearing on 19 June, the appeals court ruled in favour of his release on the grounds that the length of his detention was "disproportionate" to the crimes committed. The court said his release will allow him to return to Lebanon and "finish his days" in his village in the north of the country, adding that he no longer posed a risk of disturbing public order.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Commission nearly doubles research, innovation fund in next budget
The European Commission has earmarked some €175.3 billion of its long-term 2028-2034 budget for Horizon Europe, its research and innovation program, up from €93.5 billion in the previous period (2021-2027). Horizon Europe, which finances projects on green and digital transitions as well as research leading to scientific breakthroughs, will now be part of the newly created European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), with a total budget of €410 billion, that aims to improve the bloc's competitiveness in technologies and strategic sectors critical to the EU. Until now, the variety of EU programmes supporting innovation and deployment of research has been seen as 'complex and difficult to navigate' for the targeted beneficiaries, the Commission's document said. The new ECF is pooling resources from eleven programmes. Of the €410 billion fund, some €54.8 billion is earmarked for the 'digital transition'. 'This investment impulse should benefit the entire Single Market – from AI to space, from clean tech to biotech. The Fund will be structured into four vertically integrated sectoral windows: clean transition and decarbonisation; resilience, defence industry and space; digital leadership; health and bio-economy,' the Commission's document said. On Wednesday the Commission presented its much-anticipated proposal for the new long-term EU budget, worth €2 trillion between 2028 and 2034, a sizable increase compared to the €1.21 trillion in the previous period. In a reaction to the funding, tech lobby group Digital Europe said an 'additional investment of between €157 billion and €227 billion per year on average' is needed to close Europe's investment gap with other regions of the world. 'Digital technologies are crucial to cut emissions, protect critical infrastructure and super-charge productivity – they need to drive action across all the EU's strategic priorities,' its statement said. In February, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU executive would invest some €20 billion in AI gigafactories, needed to allow for 'collaborative development' for the most complex AI models. In comparison, French President Emmanuel Macron previously committed to invest €109 billion in AI projects in France in the coming years. On Monday, the US government committed to €92 billion for cutting-edge AI and energy initiatives. The budget will now need to be discussed by the member states and needs the consent of the European Parliament.
Fashion Network
4 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Frasers Group revenue, headline profits drop as big spend on bold long-term goals continues
Frasers Group's full-year results on Thursday were headlined 'Building a broader platform for multi-year, sustainable profitable growth', and when companies talk that way, it usually means profit is down, which was the case for the 12 months to late April. But it doesn't seem there's much to worry about with the well-funded group investing heavily — very, very heavily — in the 'broader platform' both through its ongoing elevation strategy and its fondness for both company acquisitions and stake-building in other businesses. So let's look at the headline numbers. Group revenue fell 7.4% to £4.925 billion with UK Sports Retail down 7.2% at £2.698 billion, Premium Lifestyle down 14.8% at £1.048 billion and International Retail up 1.3% at £1.007 billion. Property revenue rose 19.1% to £86.6 million and Financial Services dropped 23.2% to £85.3 million. The retail gross margin and group gross margin both rose and retail profit from trading was up 2% at £747.3 million. But group profit from trading fell 2.5% to £808.9 million. Operating profit was up 8.2% at £557 million but reported profit before tax fell 24.3% to £379.4 million. However, adjusted profit before tax (APBT) rose 2.8% to £560.2 million. CEO Michael Murray said he was 'pleased… despite the headwinds caused by last year's Budget'. He said the elevation strategy 'drove another record year of profitable growth' and it 'accelerated international expansion… to further build Sports Direct into a truly worldwide proposition'. Its 'relationships with the world's best global brands', including Nike, Adidas and Hugo Boss (in which it holds a large stake), 'are the strongest they have ever been, and our ambitious growth plans are now strengthening and scaling these partnerships even further'. Also, credit offer Frasers Plus 'is going from strength-to-strength and is on track to meet its long-term ambitions'. Murray added that for FY26, the group is seeing 'positive momentum across the group, including strong performance at Sports Direct'. He's currently expecting FY26 APBT in the range £550 million-£600 million excluding the results of XXL ASA, acquired in June. Profits down So what caused the reports profits drop? It was affected by one-off gains last year not being repeated this time and other one-off costs. Foreign exchange losses (vs gains in FY24) also had an impact and 'non-cash fair value movements on equity derivatives, primarily relating to the material decline in the Hugo Boss share price' were an issue. And those negative revenue figures? It said 'planned declines' in parts of the business had an impact 'as previously unprofitable businesses were right-sized and put on a more sustainable footing'. Continued sales growth from Sports Direct and the acquisition of Twinsport weren't quite enough to make up for those negatives. Also, the luxury market 'continued to be challenging although it is now showing some early signs of improvement'. UK Sports makes up 54.7% of group revenue and as well as falling in single-digits, gross profit dropped by £50.8 million due to the sales decline. But the gross margin rose as the higher-margin Sports Direct business now makes up a greater proportion of the segment. Operating costs fell and contributed to a £7.4 million (1.6%) increase in the segment's profit from trading. Premium Lifestyle makes up 21.3% of group revenue and includes the Flannels chain plus its department stores and some acquisitions. The double-digit revenue fall came as it 'continued to optimise our store portfolio in House of Fraser and in the businesses acquired from JD Sports', reducing the number of stores from 44 to 28. On the plus side, the segment's profit from trading increased by £20.2 million as a gross profit fall due to lower revenue was more than offset by a gross margin rise. This was due to an improving mix effect with Flannels increasing its share. There was also a £64 million decrease in operating costs. International growth International Retail now accounts for 20.5% of group revenue and its 1.3% revenue rise was due to growth from the Sports Direct International business and the Twinsport acquisition, partially offset by Sportmaster, which was integrated in FY24. Segment profit from trading fell by £13.1 but gross profit rose by £6.9 million. However, overhead costs increased by £20 million. And the company said that 'working with our global brand partners, FY25 was a breakthrough year for our international growth ambitions for Sports Direct, both deploying our consistently strong cash flow and signing capital-light partnerships'. And those ambitions are lofty. It extended its partnership with MAP Active and plans 350 new stores, moving further into Indonesia plus five new countries: India, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. In ANZ, it increased its stake in Accent Group to almost 15% (and to 19.57% after year-end), and a strategic partnership includes plans for at least 50 Sports Direct stores with a long-term objective of 100. It also signed a new partnership with GMG, targeting 50 new Sports Direct stores in the Gulf/Egypt over the next five years. It announced Holdsport in South Africa/Namibia (completed after year end), and a significant shareholding in Hudson, providing expansion opportunities into Africa/Malta. It also completed the acquisitions of Twinsport in the Netherlands and, after year end, XXL in Scandinavia. Property was an obvious plus point in the figures mentioned earlier and although it only makes up 1.8% of total group revenue, 'property investment remains a key focus for the group, unlocking occupational demand for our retail business whilst delivering strong returns that can be recycled at the appropriate time'. Properties it has acquired include the Castleford shopping centre, Doncaster's Frenchgate, Exeter's Princesshay, Maidstone's Fremlin Walk, and Affinity outlets. Segment profit from trading increased by £5 million, but additional rental income was partially offset by a £5.8 million increase in operating costs. As for Financial Services, it accounts for 1.7% of total group revenue, but it sees 'a great opportunity for Frasers Plus as a new revenue stream'. It 'continues to make good progress' towards it bold long-term ambitions and added 507,000 new customers in FY25. Frasers Plus also accounted for 12.2% of UK online sales. Post year-end, the active customer base has passed a million and penetration has increased to 18.9%.
