PARIS — French Prime Minister François Bayrou secured an important political win on Thursday, convincing the opposition Socialist Party not to censure his government just hours before lawmakers were scheduled to vote on a no-confidence motion.
Bayrou sealed the deal with the Socialists by sending a letter to their leadership at the last minute, doubling down on his pledge to open a new round of negotiations on a contentious 2023 law that raised the retirement age.
The prime minister also confirmed he would go along with some of the center-left party’s other demands, including halting job cuts in public education that had been proposed by the previous government.
“We are not ashamed of negotiating,” Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure told lawmakers on Thursday before the vote. “We are and will remain in the opposition … but we’ve showed our openness to compromise.”
The Socialists had previously signaled they might support Thursday’s no-confidence motion if they weren’t given assurances that the pensions debate would be reopened in the parliament even if negotiations failed.
However, Faure said that his party’s decision not to vote for this no-confidence motion should not be interpreted as part of a long-term pact — and that the Socialists could vote to oust the prime minister at “any time.”
Though Bayrou was expected to survive Thursday’s vote, getting the Socialists on side augurs well for a political future that looked bleak as recently as last month, when he became France’s fourth premier in a calendar year. Like his short-lived predecessor, Michel Barnier, Bayrou is attempting to get an unpopular budget, designed to rein in France’s skyrocketing budget deficit, past a fractured legislature that has little appetite for compromise.
The Socialists, the most centrist-leaning faction within the pan-left New Popular Front alliance, have been willing to work with the new government in the name of stability — though they have repeatedly said their cooperation would depend on the government’s suspension of the pensions law, which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64 for most workers.
Bayrou stopped short of suspending the reform, arguing that doing so would cost the state billions at a time when France needs to cut public spending. He instead vowed to convene a new round of talks with industry representatives and labor unions.
If these discussions lead to a deal on a new reform or to amendments to the current legislation, the changes agreed will be submitted to the parliament — provided they don’t threaten the solvency of the French pension system. If no agreement is reached, the current legislation, including the retirement age increase, will remain in effect.
The rest of the New Popular Front, along with some trade organizations, argue that Bayrou’s proposal has no chance of succeeding because industry representatives favor the reform.
The decision of the Socialists means that Bayrou is safe for now, but remains in a precarious position with budget talks set to open. The far-right National Rally has said it will not vote for Thursday’s no-confidence motion, in order to give the prime minister a chance to govern, but has made no such assurances regarding the future.
The post French PM Bayrou thrown surprise lifeline by Socialists appeared first on Politico.
