In a significant step to stabilize the minority government, France’s new Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, stated Tuesday that a contentious plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 would be renegotiated. During his first speech to National Assembly MPs, Bayrou declared,
“I’m choosing to put this subject back on the agenda, with the social partners, for a short time and under transparent conditions.”
“A new path of reform, without any totems or taboos, not even the retirement age,”
Bayrou promised, provided that funding for the reforms is secured. From January to June 2023, President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 sparked months of wide spread protests that undermined his authority. One month following his appointment by Macron, Bayrou also listed other priority goals, including important budgetary decisions.
France’s controversial pension reforms
Bayrou tries to get a nonaggression pact with the Socialists to prevent them from supporting any future attempt to overthrow the new administration in order to prevent a recurrence of that situation. According to the Socialists, they are amenable to discussions as long as they cover pension reform. But there remains a chance of another vote of no confidence. France’s hard-left the unbowed party,party declared it would launch a motion of no-confidence and declined to engage in negotiations with the government. The far right doesn’t seem inclined to back such a move in the short term, so a vote later this week would have little chance of passing.
Despite widespread protests, the pension reform was passed into law in April 2023 and has since begun to be implemented progressively. People must also work for forty-three years to be eligible for a full pension. To reverse the age of 64 and implement special measures for people with lengthy careers and those in hard-working professions, the Socialists pushed Bayrou to declare a “suspension” of the change. Although Bayrou refrained from making such an announcement on Tuesday, his suggestion to renegotiate it seems to be a hand extended to the left. Depending on the conclusion of the negotiations, he proposed lowering the age to 64, which was the most criticized modification.
Bayrou’s progressive steps
A 2025 budget law must be passed immediately by Bayrou. An emergency statute was passed in the wake of the previous government’s fall, allowing the state to impose taxes starting on January 1st to cover essential costs and prevent a shutdown. However, only a sound budget would help lower France’s deficit and enable important expenditures like relief promised to irate farmers or defense measures required in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine.
The European Commission, financial markets, and rating agencies are pressuring France to adhere to EU regulations restricting debt and preventing a sharp increase in borrowing prices. The prosperity of the nations that make up the eurozone would be at risk. In 2024, France’s deficit is predicted to amount to 6% of its GDP. On Tuesday, Bayrou stated that the government’s target deficit for this year is 5.4%, intending to bring it down to 3% by 2029, under EU regulations.
Bayrou’s Cabinet depends on a precarious agreement between conservative Republicans who, even when combined, lack a parliamentary majority and Macron’s centrist supporters. Amidst a budget dispute, opposition members from both the left and the extreme right overthrew the previous government, which had only been in power for three months.
Macron’s biggest opponent, Marine Le Pen, a far-right leader, played a key role in overthrowing the previous administration. She was contacted by Bayrou when the new government was formed, and Le Pen is still a strong man. In France’s influential lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, her National Rally party has the largest single group. By negotiating on budgetary matters with the Socialists, Greens, and Communists, Bayrou’s administration has attempted to marginalize Le Pen in recent days.
Jordan Bardella, the National Rally’s president, blasted the discussions and issued a warning on Monday that his party would reject any budget that increased the price of prescription drugs, expanded health care for migrants who were still in the country illegally, or imposed additional taxes on companies. He claimed that such actions would warrant a vote of no confidence. However, Le Pen will have her problems in the months to come. She may not be allowed to run for office due to a March court decision about alleged unlawful party finance.
