PARIS (Reuters) -Negotiations over scrapping two French national holidays will need to be concluded by September 30 at the latest, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has said, according to a report by newspaper Les Echos, as the government seeks ways to narrow its repeated budget deficits.

Bayrou, a long-time debt hawk whose minority administration is walking a political tightrope, made the headline-grabbing proposal in July, when he outlined a series of deficit-reduction measures worth 43.8 billion euros ($51 billion) next year aimed at lowering France’s debt.

The prime minister has asked for bodies including unions, government officials and others to let him know if they want to hold open negotiations by Sept. 1, according to an internal document cited by Les Echos but not verified by Reut

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