Remove public holidays in favor of the economy, a debate that has always animated. Sometimes worked, often unemployed, these days divide opinion into two camps. On the one hand, those who believe that there are too many of them on the calendar. On the other hand, those who judge their impact on growth to be weak.

In 2014, the Mouvement des entreprises de France (Medef) unveiled an employment project which included the abolition of two public holidays per year, with the aim of “extending the annual working time by 1.2 days, which accounts for about 0.9% of gross domestic product (GDP),” Slate recalls.

According to the figures put forward by the magazine, the impact of working a few days more or less each year was evaluated between -0.2 and 0.2% point of growth between the 1980s and 2014. “In 2004 , for example, year when the French had worked three days more than the previous year (the ‘fault’ due to public holidays falling on weekends), the statistical effect of the calendar on growth had been evaluated at 0, 2 point,” Slate recalls in this 2014 article.

Naturally, the weight of a public holiday on growth varies from year to year: an All Saints’ Day celebrated on a Sunday will have a lower economic impact compared to a Labor Day which falls on a Wednesday, the most expensive day of the week. dear to the economy according to Le Figaro.

The consequences are never the same: imagine, for example, that many public holidays fall on weekends in the same year. The impact will naturally be much lower than the following year when four public holidays would fall in May, all on weekdays.

If it appeals to some, the idea of ​​eliminating public holidays tends to make some economists smile…

In 2014, many economists had criticized the calculations of employers, accusing them in particular of not taking into account economic realities such as the anticipation of public holidays by companies.

The latter “accelerate the pace before and after, thus greatly erasing the effect of the leave”, recalls the magazine Slate.

In addition, the leisure activities put forward during public holidays are also at the origin of wealth, estimated the specialists.

In addition, it should be remembered that a public holiday is not synonymous with a day off. What are the days when we really do not work, in France? We take stock.

According to article L222-1 of the Labor Code, there are 11 public holidays per year in France. Here they are :