Public holidays, end of life, public broadcasting... 5 reforms that the fall of the Bayrou government would put on the back burner

Collateral damage with multiple implications. Late this Monday, September 8, the outcome of the vote of confidence to which Prime Minister François Bayrou is submitting in the National Assembly will not only decide his fate at Matignon.

If he fails, the former mayor of Pau will drag the legislative calendar into his turmoil . Specifically, parliamentarians were to resume their work examining bills and proposed laws on September 22, 2025, with an extraordinary session . This is formally organized upon convocation by a decree signed... by the President of the Republic.

However, if the Bayrou government falls, this would force Emmanuel Macron to appoint a new Prime Minister within a very short period of time . This would require him to quickly form a government capable of listing the priority texts to be examined during this session.

A very likely hypothesis: the resignation of the current Prime Minister would shift the parliamentary agenda . It could even permanently compromise certain pieces of legislation depending on the political leanings of his or her replacement. We take a look at five emblematic reforms in the spotlight... among many others.

The abolition of public holidays

A key point of contention between public opinion, many parliamentarians and the Prime Minister: the 2026 budget project covers a series of measures that could be buried, re-discussed or postponed in the event of the - announced - fall of his government.

Starting with the elimination of two public holidays: May 8 and Easter Monday . Announced in early August 2025 , this measure aims to save 4.2 billion euros by 2026. While it has provoked a political outcry (from the far right to the far left, including the Socialist Party, Les Républicains and even Renaissance), it has also garnered disapproval from the French.

Thus, an Odoxa poll for Le Parisien revealed on August 25, 2025 indicated that 84% of them were opposed to it. In the Alpes-Maritimes, the petition launched by the mayor of Villeneuve-Loubet , Lionnel Luca, on August 26 against the suppression of May 8 has collected more than 2,200 signatures to date.

Submitted by centrist senator Laurent Lafon and fiercely defended by Minister of Culture Rachida Dati , the reform of public broadcasting is also under threat.

Under discussion for many years, this reform aims in particular to create the "holding" (parent company) France Médias , defining the strategies of Radio France, France Télévisions and the INA. At the head of this grouping is a CEO appointed for 5 years by the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcom, formerly CSA).

Submitted to the Senate in April 2023, the text, which provoked several strike movements within the media concerned ( including locally ), has since experienced a chaotic legislative journey . Rejected in first reading in the National Assembly on July 23, 2024, it was adopted in second reading by the Senators on June 30, 2025… and must return this autumn to the deputies for a second reading … compromised by political uncertainty.

A major societal issue, the law on end-of-life care is also likely to suffer from the fall of the Bayrou government. This is a very hard blow for the project's defenders. It aims in particular to authorize assisted dying for people suffering from an incurable illness with a critical prognosis, or even a reform of palliative care , with the creation of support homes for people at the end of their lives.

Voted in first reading in the National Assembly on May 27, 2025 , the text was to be examined in second reading by the Senators from the second week of October , before returning to the desk of the deputies... A shuttle which already promises to be delayed by the uncertain political context of this 2025 return to school.

Submitted on January 30, 2024 by Horizons and related MPs, the anti-fast fashion law aims to limit the environmental and social consequences linked to the overproduction and overconsumption of clothing , but also to protect the French textile industry from foreign competition. In the crosshairs: companies promoting ephemeral fashion, flooding the market with low-quality items at knockdown prices with the help of aggressive advertising .

Adopted by the National Assembly in March 2024, the text was rewritten and then voted on by a very large majority by the Senate on June 10, 2025 , not achieving unanimous support among consumers . Within the Upper House, measures such as the ban on advertising - including by influencers - for these companies or the tax on small non-European parcels and on articles were validated.

Although these decisions have significantly refocused on ultra-fast fashion players, such as Chinese giants Shein and Temu , excluding, for the time being, fast-fashion players such as Zara, H & M and Kiabi .

Before its final adoption, the text was to be submitted to a joint committee of senators and deputies this fall. But nothing is less certain.

Submitted at the end of April 2024 by LR senators Daniel Gremillet and Dominique Estrosi-Sassone from Nice , the bill on National Programming and regulatory simplification in the energy sector is also expected to suffer from the fall of the Bayrou government. This text aims to define France's energy strategy by 2035 , with a strong emphasis on the revival of nuclear power .

Highly anticipated by players in the energy sector, and criticized by the left, which deplores its lack of ambition on renewable energies , the text was rejected by the National Assembly on June 24 and then adopted at second reading by the Senate on July 8.

He was due to return to the deputies in September 2025. A timetable that could be at least postponed, or even postponed depending on the political colour of the new occupant of Matignon...