2026 Budget: Public Holidays Abolished, Professional Expenses Reduced, Local Authorities on a Tight Budget... What to Remember from François Bayrou's Main Announcements

Announcements that are already irritating the opposition... On Tuesday, July 15, François Bayrou detailed his ideas for breaking out of the spiral of "indebtedness" into which France is plunged. He announced drastic measures to reduce the debt and save 43.8 billion.

For him, this is " a moment of truth" where over-indebtedness is "a curse for families, for businesses and for a country, it's the same thing. Being forced to borrow every month to pay pensions or pay civil servants' salaries. It's a curse that has no way out," declared the head of government.

In other words, everyone will be putting their hands in their pockets except the armed forces, whose budget will be doubled by 2027. Social benefits will be "unified," the annual drug allowance will be doubled to 100 euros, the tax exemption for professional expenses for retirees will be eliminated, as will two public holidays per year.

Here are the key takeaways from the Head of Government's main announcements.

Removal of two public holidays

The first announcement that has already set the opposition in a frenzy: the idea of eliminating two public holidays. Prime Minister François Bayrou proposed this elimination, citing "Easter Monday" and " May 8" as examples , while stating that he was "ready to accept or consider others" during the presentation of his plan for the 2026 budget.

"Easter Monday has no religious significance," the head of government recalled, even though this date is a public holiday in more than a hundred countries around the world. May 8, considered the anniversary of the Allied victory in 1945, became a day of commemoration in 1946, then a public holiday from 1953 to 1959.

President François Mitterrand had reinstated it as a holiday in 1981. François Bayrou considered that the "month of May (had) become a real Swiss cheese, where people jump from bridge to viaduct on holiday." "These are proposals, I am ready to accept or examine others," he added, during a press conference where he presented his savings plan for the 2026 budget.

Freezing of state spending

State spending will be frozen in 2026 at the 2025 level, excluding defense and debt service. François Bayrou also wants to establish "a rule of non-replacement for one in three civil servants retiring (...) for the coming years."

A "solidarity contribution" for the "highest incomes"

Prime Minister François Bayrou announced on Tuesday the creation of a " solidarity contribution " for the "wealthiest" French people, emphasizing that "the nation's effort must be equitable" to redress public finances. This contribution "must involve the highest income earners in the national effort," he said, also reiterating his desire to "fight against the abusive optimization of non-productive assets."

Blank year and elimination of 10% of professional expenses for retirees

François Bayrou announced on Tuesday 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 amount of pensions for each pensioner as we had in 2025," he said.

"All social benefits will be maintained at their 2025 levels in 2026, and there will be no exceptions," he added. "The income tax and general social security contribution scales will also be maintained at their levels this year," he added.

François Bayrou also intends to eliminate the tax exemption for professional expenses for retirees . A bill will also be introduced "in the fall" to combat social security and tax fraud.

Medications and long-term illness

He announced the doubling of the annual excess on drug reimbursements to €100 , as part of a €5 billion plan to reduce annual social spending. Other cost-cutting measures also include a review of the status of long-term illnesses, with the delisting of drugs "unrelated" to the illness and the "delisting of status" in certain cases that are no longer justified.

Finally, to help reduce the public deficit, the government intends to tackle sick leave and ensure that the decision-making power to return to work is given to general practitioners and specialists.

Communities will have to tighten their belts (even more)

The State will request €5.3 billion in savings from local authorities in 2026. "The contribution that will be requested from local authorities will be €5.3 billion. This is 13% of the overall effort, less than the local authorities' share of public spending, which stands at 17%," declared François Rebsamen. "This means that the increase in spending will have to be limited to the level of inflation," he explained.

A tax on small parcels

François Bayrou proposed "a tax on small parcels" in order to "protect our businesses and producers from the tide of unfair competition that is attacking them" during a press conference aimed at presenting a drastic savings plan for the 2026 budget. The head of government called for "changes in our consumption patterns" by "increasingly encouraging short supply chains and local businesses" .

Amid fears of an influx of Chinese products into Europe as a result of the trade war between the United States and China, France proposed at the end of April to charge "handling fees " on parcels worth less than 150 euros entering Europe, nine out of ten of which come from China. 800 million of these parcels were delivered last year in France, out of a total of 1.5 billion parcels.