Macron's pension plans on ice French head of government Lecornu suspends pension reform
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced that he is suspending President Macron's controversial pension reform for the time being - a surprising change of course in the social policy debate.
14.10.2025, 15:48
14.10.2025, 16:45
SDA
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is suspending President Emmanuel Macron's controversial pension reform. As Lecornu announced in his government statement, the increase in the retirement age to 64 is to be suspended until January 2028.
The announcement increases the prime minister's chances of surviving a vote of no confidence, which will be voted on in parliament on Thursday.
Socialists threaten no-confidence motion France's left-wing party and the national right had already tabled two no-confidence motions before the government statement and announced their intention to topple the government in any case. The right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) had also said it would vote in favor of the Left Party's motion.
Meanwhile, the Socialists made tolerance of the new government dependent on Lecornu announcing a suspension of the controversial pension reform in his government statement. The Socialists made this known in a statement 40 minutes before the start of Lecornu's speech.
Reform triggered mass protests
The pension reform, which was pushed through parliament in spring 2023 without a vote, had led to months of mass protests in France. The key project of Macron's second term in office was justified by a hole in the pension fund.
Lecornu has now called for a renewed debate on reforming the pension system. However, the system must remain in balance in the long term and must not increase France's already high state deficit. "The cost of the pension system amounts to 400 million euros in 2026 and 1.8 billion euros in 2027. This suspension will ultimately benefit 3.5 million French people. It must therefore be offset financially, including through savings measures."
