France to restore public holiday

The government's decision to scrap the bank holiday sparked strikes

France is to abandon an experiment which encouraged people to work on one of the public holidays in May.

The government scrapped the Pentecost public holiday four years ago and asked workers to give up the day's pay to help fund healthcare.

The so-called "National Day of Solidarity" raised more than 2bn euros (£1.5bn) in its first year in 2005.

But its popularity declined with half of all workers, mainly state employees, staying at home the following year.

France cancelled the day off to help fund healthcare for the elderly and disabled following the deaths of 15,000 people in a heatwave in 2003.

But the "compulsory labour day", as some critics called it, caused confusion and resentment, and sparked strikes around the country.