Overview

• Lawmakers rejected two no-confidence motions, with the LFI-led bid drawing 271 votes and an RN motion receiving 144, short of the 289 needed to topple the government.
• The Socialist Party withheld decisive votes after winning a pledge to suspend the pension reform, offering conditional tolerance rather than formal support.
• The suspension keeps the retirement age from rising to 64 for now, with reported budget costs of about €400 million in 2026 and €1.8 billion in 2027 that will require offsetting savings.
• The next test is the 2026 austerity budget, as the government targets a deficit near 4.7% under an EU deficit procedure and faces uncertain arithmetic in a fractured Assembly.
• Markets welcomed the reprieve with tighter French bond spreads and a CAC 40 near record levels, even as the CGT union called protests for 6 November over the budget plan.