France’s political landscape was thrown into renewed turmoil this week as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, newly reappointed by President Emmanuel Macron, took the extraordinary step of suspending the government’s controversial pension reform in a bid to stave off a looming no-confidence vote and rescue his fragile minority government.
On October 14, 2025, Lecornu addressed the National Assembly, announcing that the plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64—a flagship policy of Macron’s second term—would be put on hold until after the next presidential election in 2027. “I will propose to Parliament, starting this autumn, that we suspend the 2023 pension reform until the presidential election,” Lecornu declared, adding, “No increase in the retirement age will take place from now until January 2028.” According to AP, this move is intended to prevent his government from being toppled by hostile opposition parties.
This dramatic reversal comes after weeks of political chaos in Paris. Lecornu, who had only just returned to office after briefly resigning, faced two no-confidence motions tabled by the far-left France Unbowed and the far-right National Rally, both set for debate on October 16. While these parties alone lack enough seats to bring down the government, Lecornu could be ousted if the Socialist Party and other left-wing lawmakers join forces with them. The Socialists, led by Olivier Faure, had demanded the repeal of the pension law as the price of their support, according to France 24.
The pension reform has been a lightning rod for discontent since it was rammed through parliament in 2023 without a vote, despite weeks of mass protests. It was designed to gradually raise the retirement age, a measure Macron argued was essential for France’s fiscal health. But the law’s unpopularity has only grown, with opposition parties united in their demand that it be scrapped. The Socialist Party’s willingness to engage in talks on the 2026 budget was conditional on Lecornu’s willingness to suspend the reform.
As reported by Reuters, Lecornu’s concession is not without significant cost. The suspension will require 400 million euros in 2026 and 1.8 billion euros in 2027, benefiting some 3.5 million French citizens. Lecornu was quick to emphasize that these costs must be “financially compensated, including through cost-saving measures. It cannot be carried out at the expense of an increased deficit.”
France’s public finances are already under severe strain. The deficit hit 5.8% of gross domestic product last year, far above the European Union’s target of 3%. Public debt stood at 3.346 trillion euros, or 114% of GDP, by the end of the first quarter of 2025—a level that has alarmed both markets and EU partners. Lecornu’s new budget proposal aims to cut 30 billion euros, targeting a deficit of 4.7% in 2026. Yet, as France’s independent fiscal watchdog has warned, these belt-tightening measures may fall short, or never materialize if the government collapses.
“It is necessary to give France a budget,” Laurent Wauquiez, the Republicans’ chief in the lower house, said after Lecornu’s speech, according to Reuters. He added that further delays would only worsen the country’s deficit, signaling a rare moment of conciliation from the conservative bloc, which typically balks at tax hikes and wants greater austerity.
President Macron, for his part, has accused rival political forces of fueling instability by undermining Lecornu. “It is everyone’s duty to work towards stability,” Macron insisted on October 14, as cited by France 24. The president’s surprise decision last year to dissolve the National Assembly in hopes of breaking parliamentary deadlock backfired, resulting instead in a hung parliament and ongoing paralysis. Over the past year, a rapid succession of minority governments has left France mired in political deadlock, even as poverty rates rise and the debt crisis deepens.
Lecornu’s decision to suspend the pension reform is widely viewed as Macron’s last chance to reinvigorate his embattled second term. Within his own centrist camp, criticism is mounting over the government’s handling of both the economy and political alliances. Macron has already burned through five prime ministers in less than two years and faces increasing calls from both the National Rally and France Unbowed for either a new parliamentary election or his own resignation.
The suspension of the pension reform has drawn sharp reactions from across the political spectrum. Communist party leader Fabien Roussel called it “a first victory,” while the Greens remained unconvinced and announced they would still vote to topple Lecornu’s government, according to AP. Meanwhile, Nobel Prize-winning economist Philippe Aghion, who has become a high-profile ally of those calling for a pause, told France 2, “I think we need to stop the clock now until the presidential election. It’s the way to calm things down and it doesn’t cost very much to pause it.”
Market reactions to Lecornu’s announcement were swift. French stocks, particularly bank shares, rose, and government borrowing costs fell to their lowest since early September, as reported by Reuters. International investors, long wary of France’s mounting debt and political instability, appeared to welcome the move as a step toward compromise—though concerns remain about the long-term sustainability of France’s finances.
In an effort to reassure both lawmakers and the public, Lecornu confirmed he would not use the controversial “49.3” constitutional article to force the budget through parliament without a vote—a tactic used by his predecessor, François Bayrou, to pass the previous year’s budget. “The government will make proposals, we will debate, and you will vote,” Lecornu promised, signaling a willingness to seek compromise rather than confrontation.
Still, the road ahead is fraught with uncertainty. As Nobel laureate Aghion warned, “If there is another censure, it would be dramatic for France. Our interest rates would continue to rise, our spread would continue to rise, it would be dramatic. We must absolutely avoid censure and still arrive at a budget.”
With the fate of the government hanging in the balance and the specter of new elections or further instability looming, France’s leaders are left scrambling to find a way out of the crisis. For now, the suspension of pension reform has bought Lecornu—and Macron—a little more time. Whether it will be enough to restore stability to France’s battered political system remains an open question.
