François Bayrou's main budget announcements

"We must work more, the whole nation must work more to produce and (...) so that the situation in France improves," declared François Bayrou during a press conference during which he outlined his guidelines for achieving budgetary savings of nearly 44 billion euros by 2026.

Removal of two public holidays

The head of government proposed the abolition of two public holidays, citing Easter Monday and May 8 as examples, while saying he was "ready to accept or examine others."

"Easter Monday has no religious significance," the head of government noted, even though the date is a public holiday in more than a hundred countries around the world.

As for the month of May, it has "become a real Gruyère cheese, where we jump from bridge to viaduct on holiday."

Freeze on state spending

State spending will be frozen in 2026 at the 2025 level, excluding defense and debt service.

The government will reduce the number of public sector jobs by 3.000 positions starting in 2026. Some government agencies will be eliminated, while others will see their staff numbers reduced, resulting in a total of 1.000 to 1.500 job cuts.

François Bayrou also wants to establish "a rule of non-replacement for one in three civil servants retiring (...) for the coming years."

White year

He also announced a freeze on the tax, social security and pension scales in 2026 in order to limit the increase in spending by "seven billion euros".

"We will have exactly the same pension amount for each pensioner as we had in 2025," he said. "All social benefits will be maintained in 2026 at their 2025 levels, and there will be no exceptions," he added.

Tax

The Prime Minister announced the creation of a "solidarity contribution" for the "most fortunate" French people.

It "will have to involve the highest incomes in the national effort," he said, also recalling his desire to "fight against the abusive optimization of non-productive assets."

"We will hunt down unnecessary and ineffective tax loopholes," he added.

François Bayrou also intends to reform the tax exemption for professional expenses for retirees. They currently benefit from a 10% allowance, which will be transformed into an annual flat rate with the aim of making the most significant pensions contribute.

A bill will be tabled "in the fall" against social and tax fraud.

5,3 billion euros in savings for local authorities

The State will request 5,3 billion euros in savings from local authorities in 2026, according to a document sent to the press by Matignon.

These 5,3 billion in savings "represent 13% of the overall effort," François Rebsamen, Minister of Regional Planning, told the press.

Negotiations with social partners

Six months after the last law on unemployment insurance, the Prime Minister announced his intention to once again reform and debate with social partners on compensation for job seekers.

He will also propose that they open negotiations on labor law in order to "facilitate recruitment" and increase job offers.

Medications and long-term conditions

He announced the doubling of the annual excess on drug reimbursements to 100 euros, as part of a plan to reduce annual social spending by 5 billion euros.

Other cost-cutting measures also include a review of the status of long-term illnesses, with the delisting of medications "unrelated" to the illness and the "delisting of status" in certain cases which are no longer justified.

Unified social allowance

François Bayrou will propose a bill before the end of the year to create a "unified social security benefit."

The single social payment, which would merge several social benefits (RSA, activity bonus, etc.), is an old campaign promise of Emmanuel Macron to facilitate access to some of this assistance.

Unemployed put to work

Since 2017 and the arrival of Emmanuel Macron, the compensation rules have been tightened several times.

"They're going to have to explain this to us legally. We have an agreement that hasn't been fully implemented yet (...) and now we're being told that we have to get back around the table to reduce the rights of the unemployed once again," Frédéric Souillot (FO) replies curtly.

For the UNSA, "once again, it is the workers, retirees and users of public services who will pay the bill," and, Solidaires adds in a press release, "large companies and the richest are spared."

"The efforts will not be shared," criticizes the CFDT, which considers the elimination of two public holidays "unacceptable" and considers a new reform of unemployment insurance as "nonsense."

France's leading trade union has promised to invite trade union and employer organizations to meet at the beginning of September "to discuss the real priorities of the world of work."

Businesses applaud Bayrou's announcements

French business leaders welcomed Prime Minister François Bayrou's announcements in his speech on Tuesday on the broad outlines of the 2026 budget, particularly the cost-cutting choices and the emphasis on "working more."

Interviewed on the LCI set, Medef boss Patrick Martin spoke of a "lucid," "courageous," and "balanced" government plan, with announcements that are "in line with the warnings that the Prime Minister rightly issued about the state of public finances."

The head of the Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CPME), Amir Reza-Tofighi, said he had heard "some fairly courageous measures" from the government, citing first and foremost the limitation of public spending.

"The vision that is given is good," he continued to AFP, "but many questions still remain," he said.

"The savings plan is commensurate with the challenges," commented the employers' organization U2P (local businesses) in a press release.

The French Association of Private Enterprises (Afep), which brings together the 117 largest French companies, has retained announcements "in line" with its priorities.

The influential employers' lobby spoke of "visibility on a trajectory of public finances over several years" for businesses, households and investors, as well as the increase in "the quantity of work to produce more in France and thus reduce our dependencies."

François Bayrou particularly insisted on Tuesday on the objective of gradually reducing the public deficit with a target of 2,8% in 2029.

To achieve savings of €43,8 billion by 2026, the Prime Minister proposed, for example, the elimination of "two public holidays," citing "Easter Monday" and "May 8" as examples.

This measure has both "economic efficiency" and "a very strong symbolic charge," reacted the head of Medef.

"The main message is 'we must work more' and that is obvious," added Mr. Martin.

The government "finally seems to understand that recovery requires the liberation of our businesses," commented Marc Sanchez, general secretary of the Union of Self-Employed and Very Small Enterprises (SDI), in a press release.

"But at this stage, these are only intentions. Nothing is concrete," he lamented.