France: Lecornu retracts the cancellation of two official holidays and calls on the left for a 'new alliance'

The new French Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, announced his retraction of a controversial proposal to cancel two official holidays as part of the 2026 budget plan, emphasizing that his priority will be 'cooperation with moderate left forces' in facing economic and social challenges.

Lecornu stated in an interview with La Provence published on Saturday: 'I have decided to retract the cancellation of two official holidays,' in a move that represents a break from the policy of his predecessor François Bayrou, who proposed the measure to reduce the budget deficit.

The decision comes a day after the American agency Fitch downgraded France's credit rating from 'AA negative' to 'A positive,' citing government instability and uncertainty surrounding financial policies. The agency noted that 'the weakness of political capacity to implement major austerity reforms' will make it difficult to reduce the public deficit to below 3% of GDP by 2029.


In a sign of a new phase of political openness, Lecornu called on the socialist, green, and communist parties to 'liberate themselves from the influence of the radical France Unbowed party' and engage in talks with him in the coming days.

This comes as labor unions prepare for a new protest day next Thursday, while Lecornu confirmed that he will not reopen the pension reform file that sparked widespread demonstrations in the French streets in recent months.