François Bayrou recently presented a series of measures for the Stattering 2026 budget During a speech the Tuesday July 15. These proposals have triggered a lot of reactions in the political class, in opposition and among citizens. Many fear that these changes will push the French to work more next year.
Controversial abolition of public holidays
Among the measures put on the table, we find the idea of removing two holidays, namely the Easter Monday and the May 8. This option could bring about 4.2 billion euros to the state. However, according to a survey carried out by BFM TV, around three French people out of four are firmly opposed. This massive vote against the modification of the calendar of traditional holidays clearly shows that the change does not pass cream for the majority.
This possible abolition is part of a more global plan to reduce French debt. Certainly, 65% people interviewed think that it is necessary to act quickly in front of this debt, but 60% believe that the sacrifices requested pass the line a little.
Budget measures and their tax repercussions
In addition to the idea of removing public holidays, several other measures have been announced, such as freezing of pensions. Among them, there is a reinforced operation to track down tax fraudsters, a drop in state lifestyle and a plan to simplify the life of companies. We also plan to introduce a new tax on small packages and set up a “white year” in 2026, that is to say that there will be no increase in services or scales.
These choices should make it possible to limit the increase in expenses up to Seven billion euroseven if the public debt already exceeds 3,000 billion euros. For the time being, no direct increase in income tax has been announced, but certain households which benefited from an exemption could see their situation evolve.
The tax scale will be revised each year depending on inflation. Erwann Tison, director of studies at the Sapiens Institute, explains that this measure will bring hundreds of thousands of people who hitherto paid tax. Henri Sterdyniak, economist at Sciences-Po, believes that precisely that 300,000 people will be affected by this revision.
Social consequences and reactions
The social repercussions of the new measures also arouse concerns, especially with the increase in the CSG. People with modest incomes could lose certain advantages reserved for non-taxables (for example, specific municipal aid). In addition, retirees and large families could see their social benefits decrease significantly due to the abolition of the abatement.
With these announcements which continue to be talked about in the public and political sphere in France, it is obvious that they will mark many social groups. The discussions around the 2026 budget clearly show the challenges faced by the economic management of the country, while some defend these reforms to stabilize the growing national debt and that others fear that this does not weigh even more on the wallet of the French, already undermined by various recent economic crises.
