French Prime Minister Sbastien Lecornu on Tuesday announced he would suspend a much-debated plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, in a move aimed at preventing his fragile minority government from being toppled.
After a week of political turmoil, the newly reappointed Lecornu said in a policy speech at the National Assembly that the law, a flagship initiative of President Emmanuel Macron, would be put on hold until after the next presidential election, to be held in 2027.
The Socialist Party, which is not part of the governing coalition, had demanded the law be repealed, and Lecornu’s offer to suspend it was seen as a prerequisite for the Socialists’ potential support.
On Thursday, Lecornu will face two no-confidence motions, one from the hard-left France Unbowed and the other from the far-right National Rally. The two parties do not hold enough seats to topple Lecornu’s government on their own, but the prime minister could quickly be undone if the Socialists and others on
