PARIS (AP) — French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecorne He plans to propose scrapping a controversial plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 to avoid an immediate overthrow of his fragile minority government.
Lecornu said in a speech in parliament on Tuesday that the law, a signature policy of French President Emmanuel Macron, would be delayed until after the next presidential election in 2027.
The Socialist Party, which is not part of the government, had called for the repeal of the law.
Lecornu is facing two no-confidence motions by the far-left party France Indomitable and the far-right party National Rally. Although neither party has enough seats to defeat Lecorne’s government on its own, if the Socialist Party joins forces with both parties, it could quickly dethrone the Prime Minister.
Lecorne earlier met with ministers to discuss the 2026 budget, which needs to be approved by the end of the year.
France’s newly reappointed prime minister must make concessions to political opponents to avoid a no-confidence vote later this week, with the government on the brink as France struggles to end its protracted political crisis.
Opposite sides of the political spectrum have criticized Macron’s decision to reappoint Lecornu, France’s former defense minister and France’s fourth prime minister in just a year. With less than two years until the next presidential election, the national assembly is urging Macron to hold another early parliamentary vote, while an unyielding France is calling for Macron to resign.
Passed through parliament without a vote Despite massive protests, changes to the pension system will gradually raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 in 2023. Opposition parties are calling for the abolishment of this system.
The Socialist Party is calling for the law to be repealed, and those calling for it to be stopped have gained high-profile allies. Nobel Prize-winning economist Philip Aghion He told broadcaster France 2 that it should stop broadcasting until the next presidential election.
“I think we need to stop the clock now until the presidential election,” Aghion said, arguing that doing so is “a way to calm things down” and that “it doesn’t cost that much to stop the clock.”
Lecorne’s reappointment is widely seen as Macron’s last chance to revitalize his second term. His centrist party lacks a majority in parliament, and he faces growing influence. There is also internal criticism.
Macron made a surprising decision last year. dissolve the parliament As a result, Congress became dysfunctional and politics became paralyzed.
Over the past year, Macron’s successive minority governments have collapsed, leaving France in limbo as it faces rising poverty rates and a growing debt crisis that alarms markets and EU countries.
