French PM's plan to scrap two holidays stirs outcry, and memories of a toppled predecessor

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou wants to scrap two public holidays to put France’s finances back on track.

PARIS - French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou wants to scrap two public holidays to put France’s finances back on track. It’s a brave move: The last French leader to try something similar soon found himself out of a job.

Bayrou, a long-time debt hawk who is fighting for his political survival, made the headline-grabbing proposal on Tuesday, when he outlined a series of deficit-reduction measures worth 43.8 billion euros ($50.88 billion) next year aimed at lowering France’s debt.

“The entire nation must work more — to produce, to increase overall national activity throughout the year, and to improve France’s situation,” Bayrou said. “That’s why I propose the removal of two public holidays.”

His idea is not without precedent.

In 2003, just months after a heatwave that killed nearly 15,000 people, then-Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin announced a plan to scrap the Pentecost Monday holiday and replace it with a “day of solidarity.” Pitched as a form of civic duty to finance aid for the elderly who had been disproportionably affected by the heatwave, employees would work for free while employers would also contribute.