French senate vows to reinstate pension reform if suspended

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
Today 00:14

French Senate President vows to reinstate pension reform if suspended by lower house, warning of a €30 billion deficit without changes to retirement age.

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President of the French Senate Gerard Larcher arrives to the annual Bastille Day military parade during the Bastille day celebrations in Paris, France, 14 July 2025. (Mohammed Badra, Pool via AP)

French Senate President Gerard Larcher pledged that the upper chamber will reinstate the French pension reform in the 2026 social security budget if the National Assembly suspends the law.

Larcher's comments come amid growing debate over the future of the reform, which has been a major point of political contention since its passage.

“The Senate will reinstate the pension reform. We have been voting for it for five years. Abandoning it would mean a €30 billion [$34.9 billion] deficit by 2035,” Larcher told Le Parisien.

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he does not rule out holding a referendum on the pension reform, acknowledging that the issue could not be resolved through compromise within the 2026 draft budget process.

Suspension proposed as part of political compromise

Earlier this month, French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu proposed suspending implementation of Macron’s 2023 reform plan until after the 2027 presidential election.

The proposal is part of a compromise with the Socialist Party, which allowed the government to avoid a no-confidence vote in parliament.

Lecornu emphasized that suspension for its own sake was "pointless," and said the period should be used to build new proposals “based on trust.”

The French pension reform, passed in 2023 without a parliamentary vote, seeks to gradually raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. The reform sparked nationwide protests, with unions and opposition parties denouncing both the substance of the law and the way it was enacted.

The government argues that the measure is necessary to address long-term financial shortfalls and to avoid a widening budget deficit in the years ahead.