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UNBELIEVABLE: 5 | History Defined

Fact check: Which European country has the most public holidays?

A proposal by France's prime minister to get rid of two public holidays has prompted a discussion as to where in Europe workers get the most additional days off.

Euronews

Two days less holiday? France is up in arms but my sympathy is limited

This small cutback is hardly a draconian austerity purge for a country that is broke. But the howls of outrage show a rational debate is unlikely

The Guardian - UK

The Guardian view on Europe’s failing economic orthodoxy: social contracts cannot be renewed through cuts

Editorial: The French prime minister, François Bayrou, has become the latest leader to target the less well-off in order to balance the books

The Guardian - UK

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French PM Bayrou proposes slashing two public holidays to reduce national deficit

France’s public deficit hit 5.8% of GDP in 2024, totalling €168.6 billion, a figure well above the maximum allowed by EU rules.

Euronews

French PM may scrap two public holidays to reduce country’s crippling debt

François Bayrou says Easter Monday and VE Day could become normal workdays as critics call plan ‘a direct attack on France’

The Guardian - UK

French PM unveils radical plan to tackle ‘deadly danger’ of national debt

French Prime Minister François Bayrou on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping plan to restore France’s public finances, warning of the "deadly danger" of being "crushed by debt".

Radio France Internationale

French PM to lay out difficult budget decisions to escape 'deadly deficit trap'

French Prime Minister François Bayrou presents the highly anticipated 2026 budget to parliament on Tuesday, outlining plans to find €40 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes. Whatever form the measures take they will be unpopular and risk bringing down the government.

Radio France Internationale

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Iran detains Franco-German cycling tourist Lennart Monterlos

Human rights groups have accused Tehran of carrying out a policy of hostage diplomacy, using Europeans and dual nationals as "bargaining chips" to facilitate its negotiations with the West.

Euronews

French PM François Bayrou failed to act on abuse at Catholic boarding school, report says

Damning report by MPs comes after inquiry into allegations of decades of physical abuse, rape and sexual assault at Notre-Dame de Bétharram school

The Guardian - UK

Abuse ignored at French Catholic school while Bayrou was minister, inquiry finds

A French parliamentary inquiry has found that physical and sexual abuse went unchecked for years at a Catholic boarding school while Prime Minister François Bayrou was education minister in the 1990s.

Radio France Internationale

Italy limits outdoor work as heatwave breaks records across Europe

June temperature records have been broken in Portugal and Spain, as French schools close amid heat

The Guardian - UK

Europe swelters under severe heatwave as temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius

Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy were some of the worst hit countries, with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees Celcius.

Euronews

Algeria court upholds writer Boualem Sansal's five-year jail term

An Algerian court on Tuesday upheld a five-year prison sentence against writer Boualem Sansal for after he was found guilty of undermining Algeria's territorial integrity. The French Prime Minister said he hoped the Algerian president would "grant Sansal a pardon".

Radio France Internationale

‘A supermarket for sexual predators’: abuse scandal at elite boarding school shakes France

Legal complaints filed by former pupils accuse priests and staff of physical or sexual abuse from 1957 to 2004

The Guardian - UK

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Radio France Internationale

France faces €5bn in fresh cuts as debt balloons to record high

France’s public debt rose again in early 2025, reaching just over €3.35 trillion at the end of the first quarter – 114 percent of GDP – official figures showed on Thursday. The government now says it needs to find another €5 billion in savings to rein in the ballooning deficit.

Radio France Internationale

France's Socialists file no-confidence bill against PM after pensions talks fail

France's Socialists have filed a no-confidence measure against Prime Minister Francois Bayrou after pension talks collapsed, a senior party lawmaker said on Tuesday, but it has little chance of passing without the support of the far-right National Rally which for the moment has suggested it will not follow suit.

Radio France Internationale

Israeli arms firm Rafael to sue France over sealed booth at Paris Air Show

Israeli defence company Rafael says it will sue the French government after its stand at the Paris Air Show was blocked off when the company refused to remove attack weapons. French authorities said the decision was taken in light of the war in Gaza.

Radio France Internationale

France's Foreign Minister Barrot confirms French activists to be deported

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Thursday confirmed four French nationals who sailed on a Gaza-bound aid boat would be deported back to France on Thursday or Friday.

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Radio France Internationale

French government to ban knife sales to minors after deadly school attack

Following the death of a teaching assistant who was stabbed by a 14-year-old pupil during a bag check at a secondary school in eastern France on Tuesday, Prime Minister François Bayrou has announced that stricter rules on the sale of knives to minors will come into effect immediately.

The Guardian - UK

The Guardian view on Europe’s growing wealth divide: back to the world of Balzac

Editorial: A new study highlights the dangers of a modern rentier capitalism that perpetuates inequality through the generations

Radio France Internationale

French PM Bayrou denies covering up sexual abuse at Catholic school

In testimony to a parliamentary committee hearing, French Prime Minister François Bayrou continued to deny he knew of sexual abuse allegations at a Catholic school in the Pyrenees when he served as education minister in the 1990s.

Euronews

French PM Bayrou denies covering up Catholic school abuse scandal during parliamentary hearing

French Prime Minister François Bayrou faced a high-stakes parliamentary hearing on Wednesday evening, testifying under oath about what he knew or didn't know regarding decades of alleged abuse at a Catholic school in southwestern France.

The Independent UK

France’s premier faces questions from an inquiry on a Catholic school abuse scandal

French Prime Minister François Bayrou is facing questions from a parliamentary inquiry into alleged abuse at a Catholic school amid accusations he has hidden what he knows about the scandal

Euronews

Can France's prime minister call a referendum on the budget?

The potential move follows the passing of France's tumultuous 2025 budget in February, which aims to reduce the public deficit to 5.4% of GDP this year.

Radio France Internationale

France’s PM Bayrou mulls referendum on sweeping deficit-reduction plan

French Prime Minister François Bayrou has raised the possibility of holding a national referendum on a comprehensive plan to reduce France’s debt and bring the public deficit below 3 percent of GDP, a threshold set by European fiscal rules.

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