French Prime Minister Sébastien Le Corneille announced today that he would propose to parliament that the pension reform be postponed until after the 2027 presidential elections, world agencies reported.
He said in a speech to French deputies that the temporary cancellation of this measure would cost 400 million euros in 2026 and 1.8 billion euros in 2027. According to him, these funds must be offset by savings.
The Socialist Party had announced the cancellation of this reform, which includes increasing the retirement age and length of service, as a precondition to support government.
Lecornu is halting a landmark pension reform from 2023, bowing to pressure from leftist forces in parliament in order to survive, Reuters notes.
He faces at least two no-confidence votes later this week, with his statement to parliament today part of his desperate attempts to solidify his position to push through a reduced budget for next year, the agency notes.
The prime minister's decision means that French President Emmanuel Macron realizes that freezing the pension reform - which he considers one of his main economic legacies - is the only way to guarantee Lecornu's survival as prime minister, Reuters points out. In less than two years, Macron has made six appointments to the prime minister's post.
"I will propose to parliament, expected this fall, to postpone the pension reform from 2023 until the presidential elections," Le Corneille told lawmakers today.
"From now until January 2028, the retirement age will not be raised. France is in its worst political crisis in decades, with minority governments trying to push a budget aimed at reducing the deficit through an aggressive legislature divided into three separate ideological blocs," the French prime minister said in his speech.
The increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64, enshrined in the reform, is controversial, the Associated Press reports. The two no-confidence votes were submitted by the far-left "France Insubordinate" party and the far-right "National Rally". Neither group has enough seats to topple the government on their own, but it would fall if the Socialists joined the opposition, the AP notes.
Less than two years before the presidential vote, the "National Rally" called on Macron to call early parliamentary elections, and "France Insubordinate" demands his resignation.
Before his speech to parliament, Le Corneille convened his cabinet to discuss proposals for next year's budget, which must be approved by the end of this year.
The proponents of stopping the reform have found an extremely popular supporter, the AP notes.
One of this year's winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics, Frenchman Philippe Aghion, told France 2 television that the reform should certainly be frozen until the presidential election. "I think we should now stop the clock until the next presidential election," Aghion said.