What If Someone Stole Labor Day? France’s Lost Holidays and the Shocking Impact for Rental Managers

By Thibault Masson, Product Marketing Lead, PriceLabs

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Executive Summary

France’s proposal to eliminate two key spring public holidays—Easter Monday and May 8th (Victory in Europe Day)—is a drastic response to decades of mounting deficits and debt. For vacation rental managers, it’s a warning: if two of your best booking weekends vanished, what would it mean for your business—and could it happen in your country next?

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Biggest Booking Weekends

What if the U.S. government canceled Labor Day? Or the UK axed the beloved August Bank Holiday? For vacation rental managers, these are more than days off—they’re the “cash flow bridges” that power the spring season and help launch the year.

That is the reality facing French property managers. In its 2025 budget, the government is proposing to eliminate not one, but two iconic spring French holidays—Easter Monday and May 8th. Both are linchpins of the booking calendar, triggering long weekends and spikes in occupancy.

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Political & Economic Context: Why France Is Taking This Step

• Chronic Deficits: France has run government deficits for over four decades. In 2024, the deficit hit 6.1% of GDP—twice the EU limit.
  
• High Debt: Public debt exceeds 110% of GDP, among the highest in Europe.
  
• EU and Market Pressure: The European Commission and investors are demanding credible reforms. The Commission has launched formal action against France.
  
• Austerity Measures: The 2026 budget aims for €43–44 billion in savings, including these holiday cuts, health spending reductions, and tax freezes.
  
• Minority Government: Macron’s coalition lost its majority in 2022, making reforms hard to pass and politically charged.
  
• Symbolic & Practical: Cutting these French holidays is meant to show nothing is off-limits in tackling France’s fiscal crisis, though the real-world impact remains debated.
  

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Not the First Time: France’s Holiday “Abolitions” in Practice

France has done this before: Pentecost Monday was officially abolished as a statutory public holiday in 2004, but in reality, most people and schools still observe it. For property managers, bookings remain strong on that weekend—law and tradition diverge.

So, will the same happen with Easter Monday and May 8th? Or will this time, with mounting economic pressure, travel and rental patterns truly change?

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The PriceLabs Study: How Movable Holidays Drive Demand

At PriceLabs, we track this dynamic with precision. Easter Monday is a “movable feast”—the date changes every year, and so does its impact.

• When Easter Monday lands to create a true long weekend, we see a pronounced surge in bookings.
  
• In our 2025 study comparing Easter 2024 (early, chilly, low impact) with Easter 2025 (late, sunny, perfect for travel):
  
  • Colmar: Occupancy soared from 35% to 45% (+10 points) as the later Easter Monday unlocked a key booking window.
    
  • Nice: Occupancy rose from 42% to 49% (+7 points).
    

Across France, these spring “ponts” (long weekends) can drive up to a third of all bookings before summer even begins. If Easter Monday disappears as a public French holiday, that reliable demand spike vanishes too.

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Global Lessons: Not Just a French Story

For managers in the U.S., UK, or Spain:

• Imagine losing Memorial Day and Labor Day in a single year.
  
• If deficits keep rising and governments get desperate, similar shocks could happen anywhere.
  

France’s experience is a warning to all operators who rely on public holidays to drive revenue.

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Political Uncertainty = Business Uncertainty

The fate of these reforms is far from certain, with Macron’s minority government under heavy fire from all sides. Even if the law changes, tradition may persist—just as it has with Pentecost Monday. But uncertainty alone can already slow bookings and dent confidence.

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Takeaways for Rental Managers

• Long weekends are business drivers. Losing them means losing bookings and cash flow.
  
• Watch both the law and lived reality. What travelers do may matter more than what’s on the calendar.
  
• Monitor policy risks everywhere. France’s “unthinkable” may soon be a risk in other deficit-heavy markets.
  
• Use data to prepare and adapt. PriceLabs’ studies show how critical timing and calendar effects are for STRs—now more than ever.