The proposal is among a raft of spending cuts laid out by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou in a sweeping, and potentially doomed, budget plan.

The measure most likely to rankle the French was a proposal to scrap two national holidays: Easter Monday and May 8, which commemorates the end of the Second World War in Europe and is often used as a “bridge” by the French to take a four-day weekend in the middle of spring.

France's Prime Minister François Bayrou has proposed cutting two public holidays as part of a 2026 budget proposal to slash overall spending while also increasing defence expenses. Bayrou suggested axing Easter Monday and 8 May,