Trying to break out of a prolonged political crisis, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu of France on Tuesday proposed suspending an unpopular pension overhaul that raised the retirement age until after the next presidential election in 2027, and debating the issue anew.
The move, made in a speech to lawmakers, was a major concession by Mr. Lecornu to the Socialist Party, whose support he needs to survive no-confidence votes that threatens to topple his cabinet for a second time in less than two weeks.
It was also a reflection of the diminished stature of President Emmanuel Macron, who made the pension overhaul a cornerstone of his second term. He pushed the measure through in 2023 despite major protests. But he now faces record levels of unpopularity and is struggling to bring intense political turmoil under control.
“Is the government ready for a new debate on the future of our pension system? The answer is yes,” Mr. Lecornu told the lower house of Parliament.
The overhaul aimed to raise the age when workers can start collecting pensions, long set at 62, by three months every year until it reached 64 in 2030. Mr. Lecornu said that under his proposal, which will be examined by Parliament, that process would wait until Jan. 2028. Mr. Lecornu’s proposal would also suspend a planned increase in the number of years that workers must pay into the system to get a full pension.
But Mr. Lecornu insisted that the cost of suspending the pension overhaul be compensated by budget savings. He estimated that price at 400 million euros in 2026, or about $462 million, and 1.8 billion euros in 2027, or more than $2 billion.
He also said he would open a discussion with labor and employer unions on the pension system in the coming weeks.
“I would not endorse a result that would jeopardize the credibility of the country, let alone our entire pension system,” Mr. Lecornu said. “Suspending the overhaul only makes sense if we go further.”
Mr. Lecornu also repeated a vow not to use a constitutional prerogative to force bills through without a full vote, acceding to another major demand from the Socialists. That tool had been used in 2023 to pass the pension overhaul, which Mr. Lecornu said had fueled a lingering sense of “injustice or incomprehension.”
That might be enough to give Mr. Lecornu a reprieve from sustained political instability and to pass a budget by the end of the year that is needed to reduce France’s rising debt.
Boris Vallaud, the Socialist leader in the National Assembly, called the concessions a “victory” and a sign that the government was listening. But he warned that his party could yet help bring down the government if it did not keep its word “all along the budget process.”
“We don’t believe in stability for its own sake,” Mr. Vallaud said on Tuesday.
Hampered by a deadlocked Parliament, France has been governed by a succession of unstable, center-right minority cabinets over the last year. Mr. Lecornu, a centrist and close ally of Mr. Macron, resigned last week after less than a month in office, only to be reappointed just days later, angering opponents who want Mr. Macron to call snap legislative elections or to resign.
Opposition parties on the left and far right expressed support for no-confidence motions this week. They represent over 260 lawmakers in the 577-seat lower house, close to the absolute majority needed to oust Mr. Lecornu.
The margin is so slim that Mr. Lecornu could still be threatened if enough of the 69 Socialist lawmakers defy the party line.
Adding pressure on the Socialists, Mr. Macron told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he was ready to call snap elections if Mr. Lecornu were forced out, according to Maud Bregeon, the government spokeswoman.
The Socialists also do not want to be a crutch for an unpopular Mr. Macron, which could harm their standing ahead of municipal elections in 2026 and the presidential elections in 2027.
But neither do they want to throw France into a budget crunch and precipitate snap elections that polls show are likely to favor the nationalist, anti-immigration National Rally party.
“Let us not pretend that the greatest crisis threatening us is not, first and foremost, that of a far right at the gates of power,” Mr. Vallaud said in the lower house on Tuesday.
Some Socialists are tempted to use their leverage to wrest still more concessions from Mr. Lecornu.
In his speech, Mr. Lecornu beseeched divided lawmakers to end the political turmoil and work with the government. He said he aimed to keep the budget deficit below 5 percent in 2026, including by fixing “anomalies” on taxes for the very wealthy.
But he provided few details, arguing that they had to be hammered out during parliamentary debate.
“In the current global situation, marked by military, financial, economic, commercial, migratory, and climatic instability, it is better to show a united France than a divided one,” Mr. Lecornu said. “What I propose is that we find a common path despite our differences.”
Catherine Porter and Ségolène Le Stradic contributed reporting from Paris.
Aurelien Breeden is a reporter for The Times in Paris, covering news from France.
The post French Premier Offers to Delay Pension Overhaul, in a Bid Calm Turmoil appeared first on New York Times.
