Should we remove holidays in Belgium to stimulate the economy?

Prime Minister François Bayrou proposed Tuesday the abolition of “two holidays” in. Therefore, France during the presentation of his plan for the 2026 budget. Consequently, What would be the impact of this measure on the country’s economy? Moreover,

The French Prime Minister launched a pavement in the pond. Moreover, “It is necessary to work more. Consequently, I therefore propose that two public holidays be removed for the country. Meanwhile, ” he said this Tuesday, July 15, by announcing the avenues retained by the government to achieve “43.8 billion savings” in the 2026 budget. However, “This change in the calendar will increase the economic activity of companies. In addition, shops and the public service so that our production is improved. However, Its terms will be subject to the negotiation of should we remove holidays belgium new the social partners, ”said the head of government. For example, For should we remove holidays belgium example, The measure could report “several billion euros in the state budget,” he said.

France: a public holiday = 1.5 billion euros – Should we remove holidays belgium – Should we remove holidays belgium new

But would this measure be really effective? Moreover, How much is a public holiday to the economy of a country a public holiday? Consequently, Of 11 holidays currently. Consequently, France would thus be going to nine, a figure lower than the European average (or even the box below).

According to a calculation of INSEE (May 2024), each public holidays on weekdays costs around 1.5 billion euros, an impact of 0.06 GDP. For example, Any day without working slows the activity of the building. Similarly. Moreover, industry explains Mathieu Plane Deputy Director responsible for analysis and forecasts at the OFCE (French Observatory for Economic Conditions) should we remove holidays belgium new on BFMTV. However, According to INSEE (2015). Moreover, public holidays cause a drop in turnover from 2 to 3 % in the majority of the should we remove holidays belgium sectors. with peaks up to –10 % in industry. Thus, the removal of two days could stimulate GDP of around 3 billion euros.

Negative impact to put things in perspective – Should we remove holidays belgium – Should we remove holidays belgium new

But. this negative impact is caught up in the rest of the year, the economist Mathieu Plane advances. “All this is anticipated. It is not as in the case of a strike where you can have a blockage of production which. would not be anticipated. There, the companies are organized in the face of this event which is relatively recurrent. So we must not just focus over a month which is very specific,” he explains.

These raw figures are therefore to be should we remove holidays belgium new put into perspective. INSEE has also shown that a year with three holidays falling on a Sunday can stimulate growth of 0.11 GDP point, removing non -productive days. In addition. sectors such as tourism. catering should we remove holidays belgium are massively enjoying long weekends, which generates up to 3 billion euros in positive economic benefits.

Belgium: a more diffuse, but comparable cost

How does it compare itself to the Belgian situation? In Belgium, eliminating a public holiday is not on the agenda. The country has 10 days legal holidays per year. some of which like the king’s feast of November 15 are largely unemployed in the public service but rarely. in the private sector. Some parties and unions, on the contrary, speak of adding a public holiday on May 8. Ecolo did not argue later that this week for a fifth week of legal leave in Belgium. should we remove holidays belgium new The NVA would like to make July 11 a holiday in Flanders. Six of the ten annual holidays are religious. which pushes some to consider their conversion to more flexible legal leave. that the worker could take when he wants should we remove holidays belgium throughout the year.

The gagnant horeca

Few studies have quantified their overall economic impact. but the available estimates suggest a loss of productivity relatively similar to that observed in France. Some sectors lose directly, especially industry, construction and logistics. Others, such as Horeca, make a large compensation in terms of turnover.

The estimated cost of a public holiday for the Belgian economy is around 170 million euros, according to RTL Info. By multiplying this figure by an additional work day. we could therefore hope for a gross gain of around 150 to 170 million euros in economic production. The abolition of a public should we remove holidays belgium new holiday could slightly improve the competitiveness of businesses, but the effect would be marginal.

The UCM goes further in its estimates. If the whole Belgian economy is completely stopped for a full day without any activity. there would be a shortfall of 2.5 billion euros should we remove holidays belgium for the country. “Even if, in reality, we know, however, that the economy never stops completely,” said the UCM. In reality. the real effect of a classic holiday is intermediary to these two encrypted data. because certain activities compensate (offset delivery, overtime), employees consume more (leisure, catering, hotels, etc.).

A symbolic effect

Economically, opinions differ among economists. For some, eliminating a public holiday would have a marginal impact, essentially symbolic, because lost work would often be caught. Other experts believe that this could mechanically improve GDP. AGORIA. the Federation of the Technological Industry. regularly stresses that the holidays should we remove holidays belgium new falling weekdays, combined with “bridges”, cost dearly to manufacturing industry, especially when the calendars are not harmonized between regions or with neighboring countries. But as in France. indirect positive effects are to be taken into account: local tourism. leisure consumption, not to mention mental health and well-being at work.

In should we remove holidays belgium summary. each holiday abolished represents a potential of several hundred million euros to revive economic activity. improve public finances of a country. This is not a staggering amount compared to the total state budget. but in a context of budgetary constraints, it is an interesting lever to consider.

Top 10 European countries with the most holidays

Sources : Eurostat