The French Think of Abolishing Victory Day

The Prime Minister of the French Republic, François Bayrou, has proposed abolishing the day off on Easter Monday and on Victory Day, which in France, as in other European countries, falls on 8 May. Formally, this is to cut the budget deficit.

Of the 11 public holidays on which the French are officially entitled to rest, it is precisely these two that they propose to strike out.

There is, of course, nothing else left to economise on, other than Easter and the Victory over Fascism.

Report a translation error

September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

In the finale of the Strugatskys' Roadside Picnic, the Golden Ball is told: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to offend nobody, but the digest really does come free of charge. So, here is the main business of the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

The French Think of Abolishing Victory Day

Read more

September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s