New pension battle could mean fresh crisis for Macron
2 Min Read
A new report on France's pension deficit could reignite political debate over President Macron's controversial pension reforms.
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French President Emmanuel Macron walks with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as she leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris, on February 17, 2025. (AP)
A heated debate could be reignited over President Emmanuel Macron's contentious pension reform proposals as France's public audit authority is scheduled to produce a report this week analyzing the exact funds of the country's pension deficit.
In 2023, Macron pushed through an unpopular two-year rise in the retirement age to 64. Despite extensive strikes and demonstrations, the president claimed that the action was necessary to protect the country's generous but financially challenged pension system.
The audit office's conclusions, sought by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, might bring the matter back into the political forefront.
Estimates of the pension gap range from €6 billion ($6.25 billion) to a whopping €45 billion ($46.9 billion). Bayrou commissioned the report as part of an attempt to negotiate with Socialist parliamentarians, proposing to reconsider the pension reform in exchange for their political support.
However, unions and opposition groups throughout the political spectrum, from the far left to the far right, remain vehemently opposed to the changes and seek their full repeal.
As part of his offer, Bayrou invited businesses and unions to create a "conclave" to devise a more agreeable solution and shared his thoughts that the true disparity between worker and company payments and payouts might be up to €45 billion per year, excluding taxpayer-funded subsidies intended to reduce the imbalance.
If the public audit office agrees with Bayrou's assessment of a greater shortfall on Thursday, it may weaken the left's argument that France can afford to reverse the retirement age rise while also reassuring investors concerned about the status of France's fragile public finances.
Many economists believe that increasing the pension age is a necessary step toward adapting the country's public finances to a rapidly aging population.
However, if the auditor finds the gap to be consistent with the advisory council's forecasts, it would certainly empower those advocating for lowering the retirement age, bringing the pensions topic back to the forefront of French politics.
