The French government has shown openness to revisiting the 2023 law changing the retirement age in exchange for tacit support from the center-left.
PARIS — French conservatives are urging Prime Minister François Bayrou to uphold the controversial law that raised the retirement age in France amid reports that his government may dilute the measure to secure its survival ahead of a key policy speech on Tuesday.
Laurent Wauquiez, head of the main conservative party Les Républicains in the French lower house, warned Sunday in an interview with Le Parisien that backtracking on the 2023 pension reform, which raised the minimum retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64, would be akin to “jumping into a void without a parachute.”
Gérard Larcher, the conservative president of the Senate, estimated that the adjustments to retirement being considered would cost €3.4 billion — arguing that France cannot afford this as the government tries to bring down public spending and rein in a skyrocketing budget deficit.
“The message is clear: no suspending, and no repealing,” Larcher told Le Parisien.
The comments from the two Les Républicains heavyweights are important as the party is a junior coalition partner in Bayrou’s minority government. Without its support, Bayrou’s government could collapse. However, as the Bayrou government also needs the support of at least one major opposition party to survive.
The center-left Socialist Party have shown openness to working with the new government for the sake of stability, but their official position has been that the pensions reform be put on pause and rediscussed in exchange for their cooperation.
Finance Minister Eric Lombard, who is attempting to woo the Socialists, did not shut the door on putting the retirement reform back on the negotiating table.
Prime Minister Bayrou is expected to have made a decision on the subject before he addresses parliament for the first time on Tuesday.
The pensions reform, which was forced through parliament without a vote, remains highly unpopular in France nearly two years after its implementation. It is opposed by a majority of lawmakers in the National Assembly.
However, Macron and his right-wing allies have consistently argued that the reform was necessary to guarantee the solvency of the French pension system. Rating agencies also believe the measure to be important in addressing France’s public spending.
The reform’s most contentious aspect, the increase in the minimum retirement age, is being gradually implemented and will fully apply to those born in 1968 and later.
Patrick Kanner, head of the Socialist group in the French senate, estimated that suspending the reform would cost the public system €2 billion to €3 billion in 2025.
French labor unions, which oppose the reform, have proposed alternative measures to address the pension system’s deficit. These include small increases to worker contributions and taxes on private retirement plans.
