Overview

• In his declaration to the National Assembly, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he will ask Parliament this autumn to suspend the 2023 pension reform until the presidential election, freezing further age hikes and keeping the contribution period at 170 quarters until January 2028.
• Lecornu vowed not to use article 49.3, promising full parliamentary votes on legislation, including the budget, and announced a conference on pensions and work with social partners.
• The government presented its 2026 budget projects with a commitment to keep the deficit under 5% of GDP, while stressing that any pension‑reform suspension must be offset by savings.
• Lecornu estimated the suspension would cost about €400 million in 2026 and €1.8 billion in 2027, figures he said require compensating measures to avoid widening the deficit.
• Two censure motions from LFI and an RN/UDR coalition are already filed for debate this week, LR’s leadership told its 50 deputies not to support censure, and the PS—after threatening its own motion if unmet—now holds the decisive votes following Lecornu’s concessions.