FRANCE’S prime minister proposed on Tuesday that two public holidays should be removed from the country’s annual calendar — possibly Easter Monday and the day marking the Allied victory over the Nazis — to save money in next year’s budget.

That’s among a raft of spending cuts laid out by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou in a sweeping, and potentially doomed, budget plan.

He argued that removing two state holidays would bring in tax revenues generated from economic activity, contributing to €44 billion (£38bn) in overall savings.

Mr Bayrou questioned the religious importance of Easter Monday. And Victory Day, celebrated on May 8, comes in a month that has become a “veritable Gruyere,” or holey cheese, of days off that includes May Day and the Catholic holiday of Ascension, he said.

The proposals, which are just a first step in the budget process, were quickly attacked by unions and parties of the left and right in the assembly.

Earlier this week, President Emmanuel Macron pledged to boost military spending next year by an extra €3.5bn (£3bn) from the planned level of €57.5bn (£50bn) before a hike to €64bn (£55.5bn) by 2027.