They voted to suspend his controversial reform as next year’s budget moves slowly through parliament and under the constant threat of government collapse.
Debates over the budget have gained particular weight since snap elections called by President Emmanuel Macron produced a divided parliament, resulting in the ouster of former prime minister Michel Barnier over last year’s budget plans, and the more recent collapse of the first Lecourt government.
What does the procedure provide?
Although MPs voted in favor of the article suspending the pension reform, they are also required to vote in favor of the entire social security bill in a later vote for the suspension to take effect.
After a rocky start, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecorny’s second attempt to form a government has begun to pay off, as he has managed to pass parts of the budget through parliament thanks to tough concessions.
One of the most crucial deals was a concession to the Socialists to suspend Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age to 64.
What does pension suspension mean?
The “freeze” effectively keeps the minimum retirement age at 62 years and 9 months until the presidential election in 2027. The move is extremely difficult for hardline Macronists to accept, but it gave Lecorny a lifeline.
“Three and a half million French people will be able to retire earlier. We show that the consensus bet pays off,” said Socialist MP Melanie Tomen.
The retreat to the pension, as well as other spending cuts, is expected to significantly undermine the government’s effort to reduce the deficit by 30 billion euros. A revised estimate has not yet been released, as the final form of the budget remains unclear.
Still, France’s borrowing costs have fallen as fears of another government collapse fade.
The suspension of the pension does not satisfy everyone
Other parties on the left, including the Greens and the Communists, are unclear about whether they will ultimately support Lecorny, while far-right hardliners Le Pen and radical Jean-Luc Mélenchon are still calling for new elections.
Former prime minister Gabriel Attal said the suspension of the reform would not be good news for the French economy, but Macron’s centrist party would abstain rather than vote against it to keep the government in place.
