French PM suspends pension reforms until presidential election

PARIS -- French Prime Minister (PM) Sebastien Lecornu on Tuesday announced the suspension of controversial pension reforms until the presidential election.

Lecornu also said that the next budget would impose exceptional contributions from the wealthiest French citizens, confirming the government's decision not to invoke Article 49.3.

"There will be no increase in the retirement age between now and January 2028... In addition, the contribution period will also be suspended and will remain at 170 quarters until January 2028," he explained.

This maneuver, with an estimated cost of 400 million euros ($464 million) in 2026 and 1.8 billion euros in 2027, will require budgetary savings, according to the PM.

He has therefore proposed organizing in the coming weeks a "conference on pensions and work in agreement with the social partners."

The public deficit will be reduced to 4.7 percent of GDP in the draft budget for 2026 and must "in any case be less than 5 percent at the end of the discussion" in Parliament, Lecornu said. He also confirmed that he intends to maintain the target of 5.4 percent for 2025.

"We will ask to create a special contribution from large fortunes, which we propose to allocate to financing future investments that affect our sovereignty," he said. These investments will include infrastructure, ecological transition, and defense, he added.

He confirmed that he would not use Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows the government to pass a bill without a vote. "Without an absolute majority, Parliament will have the final say," he said.

Manuel Bompard, coordinator of France Unbowed (La France Insoumise, LFI), said Lecornu's announcement of the suspension of the pension reform was simply a "delaying tactic." Bompard called on the Socialist Party to vote in favor of the motion of no confidence in the prime minister.

According to information from BFMTV, at least two motions of censure against the government will be examined by deputies on Thursday.