French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced his intention to suspend the country’s 2023 pension reforms, a significant policy change that raised the retirement age from 62 to 64. This proposal comes as his government faces critical confidence votes in parliament later this week.
Lecornu, who was recently reappointed as Prime Minister, stated his support for pausing the reforms until after the 2027 presidential election. This announcement was met with applause from opposition parties.
The pension reforms, considered a flagship initiative of President Emmanuel Macron’s second term, have been a source of considerable political debate, widespread strikes, and public protests. Their passage in March 2023 was controversial, involving the use of a constitutional measure that bypassed a parliamentary vote.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that suspending the reforms would have financial implications, estimating costs of €400 million in 2026 and €1.8 billion in 2027, which would necessitate compensatory savings elsewhere.
Lecornu’s government is seeking the support of various parliamentary groups, including the Socialists, to survive the upcoming confidence votes. Socialist MP Laurent Baumel emphasized that his party’s support hinges on an explicit commitment to an “immediate and complete suspension” of the pension reform.
The Prime Minister’s proposal is seen as a strategic effort to navigate the current political landscape and avoid further governmental instability. France has experienced frequent changes in its prime ministerial position over the past year, and the current administration faces the challenge of passing a budget to address a significant budget deficit.
Adding to the political discourse, Philippe Aghion, a Nobel laureate in economics, also expressed support for suspending the pension reform, citing the potential cost of political instability as greater than the financial impact of the reform’s suspension.
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