Overview

• In his policy statement to the National Assembly, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he will ask Parliament this autumn to suspend the 2023 pension reform until the 2027 presidential election, covering both the higher retirement age and added contribution quarters.
• Lecornu estimated the pause would cost about €400 million in 2026 and €1.8 billion in 2027, saying the impact must be offset by savings rather than higher deficits.
• The Council of Ministers approved draft state and Social Security budgets featuring a tax on holding companies, a renewed surtax on big firms’ profits, an extension of the differential contribution on top incomes, and a freeze of pensions and social benefits in 2026, with a deficit target below 5% of GDP.
• Socialist leaders hailed the suspension as a political win and signaled they could spare the government, though they demanded concrete follow‑through; LR’s leadership urged its 50 deputies not to back censure.
• Two censure motions from LFI and the RN/UDR bloc remain scheduled for a vote, with 289 votes needed and the PS holding the balance, as President Emmanuel Macron warned he would dissolve the Assembly if the government falls and Lecornu pledged not to use article 49.3.