Journalism of Courage
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said he will propose suspending the controversial plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 until after the next presidential election in 2027, according to AP.
Lecornu made the announcement in a policy speech at the National Assembly on Tuesday. The move comes as his minority government faces potential votes of no confidence.
The pension reform, a key policy of President Emmanuel Macron, was passed in 2023 without a parliamentary vote despite mass protests. Opposition parties, including the Socialist Party and Green lawmakers, have demanded it be repealed.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Philippe Aghion told broadcaster France 2 that the law should be “paused until the presidential election” to “calm things down” and noted it “doesn’t cost very much to pause it,” AP reported.
Lecornu, reappointed last week by Macron after a period of political turmoil, met with his Cabinet on Tuesday to discuss the draft 2026 budget. He faces censure motions from far-right National Rally and far-left France Unbowed, which will be debated Thursday.
While these parties alone do not hold enough seats to topple the government, Lecornu could lose a no-confidence vote if the Socialist Party and Green lawmakers join them.
The suspension of the pension reform is seen as a compromise to avoid immediate political collapse and allow the government to deliver its budget for the European Union’s second-largest economy before upcoming deadlines, AP said.
