The measure most likely to rankle the French was a proposal to scrap two national holidays: Easter Monday and May 8, which commemorates the end of the Second World War in Europe and is often used as a “bridge” by the French to take a four-day weekend in the middle of spring.

France’s prime minister proposed on Tuesday the elimination of two public holidays 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.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou proposed scrapping two public holidays and freezing most public spending as part of a 43.8 billion euro ($50.88 billion) budget squeeze he outlined on Tuesday.