French President Emmanuel Macron has implicitly approved newly appointed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s decision to freeze the unpopular pension law, which raises the retirement age from 62 to 64, until after the 2027 presidential elections. According to Politico, this move is seen as an implicit acknowledgment of Macron’s political misstep and aims to give Lecornu’s fragile government a chance to survive.
اضافة اعلان
The Socialist Party, holding 69 seats in the National Assembly, indicated it would not move to topple Lecornu’s government following the announcement, made during Lecornu’s first parliamentary speech on Tuesday. However, the party continues to threaten a no-confidence motion until promises are translated into concrete actions, according to its parliamentary leader, Boris Valode.
Political Turmoil and Market Reactions
Lecornu’s first government lasted only 14 hours, plunging France into political uncertainty and raising market concerns about the ability of Europe’s second-largest economy to implement multi-billion-euro spending cuts to curb an expected 5.4% budget deficit this year.
The Socialist Party’s stance provides some operational leeway for the government, though both far-left and far-right opposition parties plan to table two separate no-confidence motions for a Thursday vote. Meanwhile, the government seeks to pass a budget aimed at reducing the deficit without deepening divisions within its fragile coalition.
Lecornu described the law freeze as an opportunity to reconsider the contentious pension reform, saying, “Discussing retirement is not just a financial equation, but a key part of our social contract, which also needs updating.” He emphasized that the freeze must be accompanied by public spending reductions to control excess expenditure, estimating the cost to the state at €400 million in 2026.
The government also presented a budget proposal targeting a deficit below 5% of GDP next year, including €31 billion in spending cuts and tax increases. Markets responded positively: ten-year government borrowing costs fell to 3.40%, the lowest in over a month, and the gap with comparable German yields narrowed to 0.80 percentage points, the lowest in three weeks. The CAC40 index dipped 0.2% but remained among Europe’s best-performing markets on Tuesday.
Parliamentary Divisions
Freezing the pension reform may deepen rifts within the coalition, particularly among cost-conscious conservatives. Bruno Retailleau, leader of the Republicans, said, “Suspending pension reform while remaining silent on immigration shows this government is hostage to the Socialists.”
Lecornu’s team still faces the risk of a no-confidence vote while meticulously working to pass the budget. If the government collapses in the coming days or weeks, it would be France’s fourth government to fall in less than a year, increasing the likelihood that Macron may dissolve parliament to break the deadlock.
The two planned no-confidence motions—one from far-left, Green, and left-wing deputies, the other from the far-right—will be voted on Thursday, but success seems unlikely unless a significant number of Socialist MPs break party lines.
In a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, before Lecornu’s speech, Macron warned ministers: “No-confidence votes are effectively votes to dissolve the National Assembly.”
An unnamed Macron adviser noted that government collapse would not necessarily trigger immediate elections. Macron reportedly addressed the issue for the first time on Monday, blaming political forces attempting to destabilize Lecornu, who leads a fragile coalition of centrists and conservatives.
