PARIS ¨C French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou proposed scrapping two public holidays and freezing most public spending as part of a €43.8 billion ($50.88 billion) budget squeeze he outlined on Tuesday.
Bayrou¡¯s plan involves freezing welfare spending and tax brackets in 2026 at 2025 levels, not even adjusting for inflation, which was immediately criticized by leftwing and far-right politicians. Defence spending, however, will increase.
France saw its budget deficit hit 5.8% of gross domestic product last year, nearly double the official EU limit of 3% of GDP, as a political crisis left four successive governments paralysed and incapable of tackling an unexpected drop in tax income and surge in spending for a second year.
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