Paris, France

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said Tuesday he wanted to reduce the number of public holidays in France as part of a bid to tackle what he called the "curse" of his country's debt.

Presenting 2026 budget proposals, Bayrou said two out of France's 11 national holidays could go, suggesting Easter Monday and May 8, a day that commemorates the end of World War II in Europe.

Such a measure would bring France into line with Germany's nine national holidays -- although federal states can add their own -- and take it well below Italy's 12 days.

After years of overspending, France is on notice to control its public deficit and cut its sprawling debt, as required under EU rules.

Bayrou said France had to borrow each month to pay pensions and the salaries of civil servants, a state of affairs he called "a curse with no way out".

Losing two public holidays, meanwhile, would add "several billions of euros" to the state's coffers, Bayrou said.

But the proposed measure sparked an immediate protest from Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally.

- Holiday protests -

He said abolishing two holidays, "especially ones as filled with meaning as Easter Monday and May 8 is a direct attack on our history, our roots and on labour in France".

The party's parliamentary leader, Marine Le Pen, warned that "if Francois Bayrou does not revise his plan, we will vote for a no-confidence motion".

Leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon of the France Unbowed party called for Bayrou's resignation, saying "these injustices cannot be tolerated any longer".

His party colleague Mathilde Panot accused Bayrou of starting "a social war".

Bayrou had said previously that France's budgetary position needed to be improved by 40 billion euros ($46.5 billion) next year.

But this figure has risen after President Emmanuel Macron said at the weekend he wanted 3.5 billion euros of extra military spending next year because of rising international tensions. France has a defence budget of 50.5 billion euros for 2025.

Bayrou said the budget deficit would be cut to 4.6 percent next year, from an estimated 5.4 percent this year, and would fall below the three percent required by EU rules by 2029.

To achieve this, other measures would include a general freeze on spending increases  -- including on pensions and health -- except for debt servicing and the defence sector, Bayrou said.

"We have become addicted to public spending," Bayrou said. "We are at a critical juncture in our history".

- Remember Greece -

The prime minister even held up Greece as a cautionary tale, an EU member whose spiralling debt and deficits pushed it to the brink of dropping out of the eurozone after the 2008 financial crisis.

"We must never forget the story of Greece," he said.

France's debt stands at 114 percent of GDP -- compared to 60 percent allowed under EU rules -- the biggest debt mountain in the EU after Greece and Italy.

The government hopes to cut the number of civil servants by 3,000 next year, and close down "unproductive agencies working on behalf of the state", the premier said.

Bayrou said wealthy residents would be made to contribute to the financial effort.

"The nation's effort must be equitable," Bayrou said. "We will ask little of those who have little, and more of those who have more."

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© Agence France-Presse