France may axe two public holidays

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou would like to cut two
national holidays from the country’s annual allowance in a
bid to increase productivity and reduce its crippling debt

NUMBER OF PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN EUROPE PER YEAR
(European Union and select other European nations)

Map
Country
Number of holidays

EU

Germany*
Malta
Slovakia
Cyprus
Liechtenstein
Austria
Croatia
Iceland
Portugal
Slovenia
Finland
Greece
Latvia
Sweden
Bulgaria
Czech Rep.
Estonia
France
Hungary
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Poland
Romania
Switzerland
Belgium
Denmark
Italy
Norway
Spain
France
Ireland
Netherlands
UK

If enacted, France would tumble down
ranking for number of public holidays

France’s debt increases by €5,000 per
second and, if left unchecked, is on target
to cost France €100 billion annually in
interest costs alone by 2029

*Six holidays are allocated to only certain Länders (states
within the federal system), of which Germany has 16
Sources: Bloomberg, Guardian, AXA
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