France's prime minister wants to cut 2 public holidays to save money for the indebted economy
That's among a raft of spending cuts laid out by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou in a sweeping, and potentially doomed, budget plan. He argued that removing two state holidays would bring in tax revenues generated from economic activity, contributing to around 44 billion euros ($51.3 billion) in overall savings.
President Emmanuel Macron tasked Bayrou with crafting a budget that shaves costs to bring down France's staggering debt and deficit — while also adding billions in new defense spending to face what Macron says are resurgent threats from Russia and beyond.
Bayrou questioned the religious importance of Easter Monday. And Victory Day, celebrated May 8, comes in a month that has become a 'veritable Gruyere,' or holey cheese, of days off that includes May Day and the Catholic holiday of Ascension, he said.
He said that those holidays were just suggestions, and that he was open to other ideas. France currently has 11 official holidays per year.
With no parliamentary majority, Macron's centrist grouping must win support from adversaries on the left and right to pass the budget this fall. Bayrou's proposals, which are just a first step in the budget process, were quickly assailed by unions and the far-right National Rally, the largest single party in the lower house of Parliament.
Bayrou's job is precarious, and he could be voted out if he fails to reach compromise on the budget.
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New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
CT teacher put on leave for refusing to remove crucifix has still not settled lawsuit
A Connecticut teacher put in a 'rubber room' for refusing to remove a cross from her desk says she is still being crucified. Marisol Arroyo-Castro's case is being closely watched by both advocates of religious freedom and those seeking strict separation of church and state. On Wednesday, the grade-school educator and her lawyers participated in a three-hour mediation with the New Britain district's lawyers, superintendent and a judge, but weren't able to come to an agreement. Advertisement Her fate now rests in the hands of a judge, and Castro fears she could be fired or remain in a rubber room when the school year begins on Aug. 19. 'It's a little bit nerve-wracking, especially when school is starting again soon,' Castro, 62, told The Post on Thursday. 6 Marisol Arroyo-Castro has been teaching at DiLoreto Elementary and Middle School since 2003. Courtesy of Marisol Arroyo-Castro Advertisement The 33-year veteran teacher was taken out of her seventh-grade classroom at DiLoreto Elementary and Middle School in mid-December for refusing to remove the 12-inch wooden crucifix on a classroom wall by the side of her desk. Castro, a devout Catholic, had the cross displayed there for a decade. 'I had it for 10 years and never a problem . . . And then one day I got a message [from the vice principal] saying that I needed to take it down,' Castro said. 'He said that it was against the Constitution when I asked why.' Advertisement 6 Castro, a devout Catholic, had the cross displayed in her classroom for a decade. Courtesy of Marisol Arroyo-Castro The vice principal said he got a complaint from two people — never revealing who — and she was asked to move the crucifix to a new location under her desk. She did this for one day. 'I went home and cried for the whole night. And then I came back in the morning and I moved it' back to the classroom wall, she recalled. Advertisement The principal then told her she had until the end of the day to put it back under the desk, but she refused. 'When I came back the next day, somebody else removed it and put it in a box, and they told me not to return to the classroom,' she said. 'A representative from the union escorted me out of the building.' 6 Castro was asked to move the cross to a location below her desk. Courtesy of Marisol Arroyo-Castro In March, after over two months of being on paid administrative leave, she was sent to an administrative office, where she is assigned demeaning clerical tasks under the title 'curriculum information teacher.' 'They assigned me some work related to developing curriculum, which I'm not trained in. They gave me a computer and a cubicle and told me to sit down. They didn't introduce me to anybody or anything. No one talked to me,' she said. Castro has been working at DiLoreto Elementary and Middle School since 2003 — and has seen gay pride flags proudly displayed in the building, as well as personal items around other teachers' desks, including a photo of the Virgin Mary and a mug decorated with a Bible quote. 'They have pictures of their family, and to me, Jesus is my father,' she said. 'Pictures of their dogs. The Patriots sign. The Yankees sign. They even have Christmas trees. 'Somebody had a Baby Yoda. I think there's a Wonder Woman somewhere. All kinds of things,' added attorney Keisha Russell of the nonprofit First Liberty Institute, who is representing Castro. Advertisement 6 In Castro's complaint, she cites the Virgin Mary photo displayed by another teacher at the school. Obtained by the New York Post Russell cited the case Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, where the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Washington high school football coach Joe Kennedy praying on the field after games, as precedent for free religious expression in schools. Castro got emotional when she spoke about the support she's received from other teachers at the school as well as her former students. 6 Even if reinstated to her old job, the veteran teacher will have mixed feelings about it. 'Part of me is happy to go back and be with the students. Part of me is sad because those seventh graders didn't have me that year,' Castro said. Courtesy of Marisol Arroyo-Castro Advertisement 'I have had a lot of teachers get in touch with me secretly because they were told not to. And they have just said that they're praying for me. And even students have contacted me in church. They say they're praying for me.' She hopes President Trump weighs in on the situation. 'That would be wonderful because we know that our president is fully committed to religious liberty,' Russell added. Advertisement 6 DiLoreto Elementary and Middle School in New Britain, CT, serves grades K through 8. DiLoreto Elementary & Middle School/ Facebook The New Britain School District says it's just following laws separating church and state. 'Since last fall, the district has attempted to reach an accommodation with Ms. Castro that respects her personal religious faith, the diverse religious beliefs of our many middle-school students, and the commands of the Constitution,' Dr. Tony Gasper, district superintendent, said. 'From the start, this teacher has insisted on displaying a crucifix on a classroom wall, visible to children in class, during instructional time. 'While we regret the spectacle that this situation has caused, we look forward to a ruling from the court. Meanwhile, the district will continue to focus on providing an effective learning environment in which all students and staff feel respected and valued.'
Associated Press
5 hours ago
- Associated Press
A half-million young Catholics invade Rome, awaiting Pope Leo XIV at Holy Year youth festival
ROME (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics poured into a vast field on Rome's outskirts Saturday for the weekend highlight of the Vatican's 2025 Holy Year: an evening vigil, outdoor slumber party and morning Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV that marks his first big encounter with the next generation of Catholics. Leo will surely like what he sees: For the past week, bands of young Catholics from around the world have invaded the area around St. Peter's Square for their special Jubilee celebration, in this Holy Year in which 32 million people are expected to descend on Rome to participate in a centuries-old pilgrimage to the seat of Catholicism. The young people have been traipsing through cobblestoned streets in color-coordinated t-shirts, praying the Rosary and singing hymns with guitars, bongo drums and tambourines shimmying alongside. Using their flags as tarps to shield them from the sun, they have taken over entire piazzas for Christian rock concerts and inspirational talks, and stood for hours at the Circus Maximus to confess their sins to 1,000 priests offering the sacrament in a dozen different languages. On Saturday, they began arriving at the Tor Vergata field on the eastern flank of Rome for the culmination of their Jubilee celebration — the encounter with Leo. After walking five kilometers (three miles) from the nearest subway station, they passed through security checks, picked up their boxed meals and set up camp, backpacks and sleeping bags at the ready and umbrellas planted to give them shade. Leo, who was elected in May as the first American pope, was flying in by helicopter Saturday evening to preside over the vigil and a question-and-answer session. He was then returning to the Vatican for the night and coming back for a popemobile romp and Mass on Sunday morning. A mini World Youth Day, 25 years later It all has the vibe of a World Youth Day, the Catholic Woodstock festival that St. John Paul II inaugurated and made famous in 2000 in Rome at the very same Tor Vergata field. Then, before an estimated 2 million people, John Paul told the young pilgrims they were the 'sentinels of the morning' at the dawn of the third millennium. Officials had initially expected 500,000 youngsters this weekend, but Leo hinted the number might reach 1 million. 'It's a bit messed up, but this is what is nice about the Jubilee,' said Chloe Jobbour, a 19-year-old Lebanese Catholic who was in Rome with a group of more than 200 young members of the Community of the Beatitudes, a France-based charismatic group. She said, for example, it had taken two hours to get dinner Friday night, as the KFC was overwhelmed by orders. The Salesian school that offered her group housing is an hour away by bus. But Jobbour, like many here this week, didn't mind the discomfort: It's all part of the experience. 'I don't expect it to be better than that. I expected it this way,' she said, as members of her group gathered on church steps near the Vatican to sing and pray before heading out to Tor Vergata. There was already one tragedy before the vigil began: The Vatican confirmed that an Egyptian 18-year-old, identified as Pascale Rafic, had died while on the pilgrimage. Leo met Saturday with the group she was traveling with and extended his condolences to her family. The weather has largely cooperated: While Italian civil protection crews had prepared for temperatures that could have reached 34C (93F) or higher this week, the mercury hasn't surpassed 30C (85F) and isn't expected to. Romans inconvenienced, but tolerant Those Romans who didn't flee the onslaught have been inconvenienced by the additional hordes on the city's notoriously insufficient public transport system. Residents are sharing social media posts of outbursts by Romans angered by kids flooding subway platforms and crowding bus stops that have complicated their commutes to work. But other Romans have welcomed the enthusiasm the youngsters have brought. Premier Giorgia Meloni offered a video welcome, marveling at the 'extraordinary festival of faith, joy and hope' that the young people had brought to the Eternal City. 'I think it's marvelous,' said Rome hairdresser Rina Verdone, who lives near the Tor Vergata field and woke up Saturday to find a gaggle of police congregating outside her home as part of the massive, 4,000-strong operation mounted to keep the peace. 'You think the faith, the religion is in difficulty, but this is proof that it's not so.' Verdone had already made plans to take an alternate route home Saturday afternoon, that would require an extra kilometer (half-mile) walk, because she feared the 'invasion' of kids in her neighborhood would disrupt her usual bus route. But she said she was more than happy to make the sacrifice. 'You think of invasion as something negative. But this is a positive invasion,' she said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Up to a million young Catholics expected for grand Pope Leo vigil
Up to a million young Catholic believers are expected Saturday for a night-time vigil led by Pope Leo XIV, the culmination of a week-long pilgrimage, a key event in the Jubilee holy year. The "Jubilee of Youth" -- when the Vatican invites Catholics aged 18 to 35 to the seat of the global Church's power -- has seen thousands of young pilgrims from around the world flood Rome this week. It is taking place just under three months since 69-year-old Leo -- the first American pope -- took over the papacy. Large groups of pilgrims have packed the streets of Rome all week, waving the flags of their countries or cities and chanting religious songs. Excitement has mounted over the course of the week for the new pope's final appearance to the youths on Saturday. "I feel mainly curiosity, as we don't know him very well yet," Parisian student Alice Berry, 21, told AFP. "What does he have to say to us? What is his message for young people?" - Uncertainty, anxiety - Various events have been planned for them by the Church throughout the city, including at Circus Maximus, where on Friday approximately 1,000 priests were on hand to take confession. Some 200 white gazebos lined the hippodrome where chariot races were once held in Ancient Rome, where youth lined up to speak to priests in 10 different languages. Spanish was one of the main languages heard on the streets of the Italian capital. The pilgrimage is taking place as economic uncertainty hits young people across the world and as climate change anxiety rises among the under-30s. Many young pilgrims said they wanted to hear the Vatican's position on climate change, wars and economic inequalities. Samarei Semos, 29, said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome. "We are still trying to understand his leadership," she said of the new pope, adding she hoped he would have a strong say about "third world countries". The pilgrimage also comes amid global alarm over starvation in Israel-blockaded Gaza, and more than three years into Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. - Night vigil - The Vatican has praised Catholic youths who travelled to Rome from war-scarred countries like Ukraine or Syria, with Pope Leo repeatedly calling for the youths to "pray for peace". The voices of the amassed young people "will be heard to the end of the earth," Pope Leo told them earlier this week. The Vatican has said that more than 146 countries are represented. The mass that is the climax of the event will take place in Rome's Tor Vergata area in a vast open-air space with a newly built stage for the pope. It is the same area used 25 years ago for the last youth jubilee under Pope John Paul II. More than 4,300 volunteers will be working the event to welcome the young pilgrims, along with over 1,000 police, according to organisers. In an unprecedented move, Leo hosted a mass Tuesday for Catholic social media influencers, signalling the Vatican's openness to supporting the Internet-savvy youth. Rome authorities have tightened security in the city -- which has seen an unprecedented number of people, with both tourists and pilgrims inundated the city. oc/jj
