François Bayrou, the French Prime Minister, is not conceding defeat after his effort to tweak the country’s unpopular 2023 retirement reform appeared to collapse this week without a deal. At a press conference on Thursday, Bayrou said that trade unions and industry representatives who participated in his “conclave” on the reform had agreed to several compromises that his government plans to legislate in the fall. These compromises include a commitment to make the pension system financially sustainable by 2030, calculating pensions differently to avoid penalizing women on maternity leave, and making better provisions for workers with strenuous jobs.
Bayrou admitted that an agreement hadn’t yet been found on how to compensate workers with physically demanding jobs or how to fully finance the proposed tweaks, but he described those issues as “solvable.”
“The totality of decisions that have been the subject of at least implicit agreement are impressive,” he said. Bayrou convened the pension meeting at the beginning of his tenure in January, hoping to find an agreement on fixes to a law raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without putting the system further in the red. After four months of closed-door talks failed to yield a deal, the center-left Socialist Party filed a motion of no confidence against Bayrou.
However, Bayrou survived the no-confidence vote on Tuesday after lawmakers from the far-right National Rally declined to join the effort to bring him down.
Bayrou steadfast on pension reforms
Of the eight no-confidence votes filed against Bayrou’s government, Tuesday’s drew the most support and left the government’s survival in the hands of the far-right National Rally.
While far-right leader Marine Le Pen said there was “zero” benefit from ousting the government right now, her allies have signaled that they could look to topple Bayrou during budget talks later this year. The government is seeking €40 billion in savings, but France’s fractured parliament remains deeply divided on how to get the country’s public finances in order. The government is expected to present its first policy proposals later this month, ahead of a parliamentary debate in the fall.
Le Pen’s party has set stricter budget red lines for Prime Minister Bayrou, whose budget plans are due around July 14. The upcoming budget is critical for Bayrou, with Macron’s allies warning that new elections could worsen political instability in France. Bayrou’s ability to navigate the budget will be a significant test, especially given Marine Le Pen’s increasing influence and demands.
