PARIS - France's government, led by Prime Minister François Bayrou, has unveiled an ambitious 43.8 billion-euro (more than a trillion kronor) austerity package to bring the country's huge budget deficit under pressure from the European Union.

Prime Minister Bayrou stressed that the public debt is growing by €5,000 every second, and without radical action, interest costs could reach €100 billion by 2029. The aim is to reduce the budget deficit from the projected 5.4 % of GDP this year to 4.6 % next year, and to reach the 3 percent threshold required by the EU's Maastricht criteria by 2029.

In addition to the abolition of the two holidays, the proposal includes a new tax for the richest classes, a freeze of pensions and social benefits in real terms at the 2025 level and the possible divestment of state shares in strategic companies. The government says public spending remains a key factor and "the whole nation must do more" to boost economic activity throughout the year.

France is one of the most indebted countries in the eurozone after Italy and its political class is still facing pressure from Brussels to return to budgetary discipline. Experience shows that similar measures may not go smoothly - in 2013 Portugal had to roll back cancelled holidays .

Prime Minister Bayrou will therefore have to find support in the fragmented National Assembly, where his government does not have a clear majority, as was the case with his predecessor Michel Barnier and other centrists. The next months will be decisive: either the second attempt to stabilise the budget will succeed or there is a risk of new political instability and potentially further intervention by Brussels.

gnews.cz -GH