a gain for the State, but at what cost for employees?

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– In order to reduce the Social Security deficit, the government is considering eliminating a public holiday.

After Whit Monday, will a second public holiday soon be abolished? To reduce the Social Security deficit, the government is in fact studying this possibility which could soon be debated in Parliament. There are currently 11 public holidays in France, not all of which are public holidays. The law of June 30, 2004 relating to solidarity for the autonomy of elderly and disabled people transformed Pentecost Monday into a day of solidarity, in order to finance actions in favor of the autonomy of elderly or disabled people. This measure yields approximately three billion euros per year to the State.

The elimination of a second public holiday would therefore amount to making employees work 7 hours more per yearand this, without remunerationas La Dépêche points out. In addition, if in a recent report senators Chantal Deseyne (LR), Anne Souyris (Ecologist) and Solanges Nadille (Rally of Democrats, Progressives and Independents) specify that the measure could bring “2.4 billion euros in additional revenue” in 2025, and even 3.3 billion euros “by symmetrically increasing the contribution of retirees”however, some have reservations.

“Uncertain effects on the economy and employment”

In 2020, Laurent Vachey, Inspector General of Finance and former director of the National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy (CNSA), indicated in a report that “a second day of solidarity would provide equivalent revenue (to that of the first, editor’s note), but with uncertain effects on the economy and employment. If employees’ working hours increase, we may fear that companies hire less.

On the occasion of November 11, the former Minister of the Budget and Mayor of Meaux, Jean-François Copé, declared himself in favor of eliminating a second public holiday. “There is never a good holiday to cancel, there is never a good savings”he first declared on France Inter. But according to him, beyond the historic nature of November 11, the elimination of this public holiday would be entirely possible: “We don’t need a public holiday to commemorate November 11”he estimated, while ironically: “Or that would mean that we have 65 million French people at the foot of the war memorials.”