France’s new Prime Minister François Bayrou has given labour groups three months to devise a fairer pension plan to replace the controversial reform pushed through by President Emmanuel Macron in 2023.
If the parties cannot come to an agreement on an alternative reform that does not require extra costs, the 2023 reform will remain in force, Bayrou said in his government statement on Tuesday.
Macron passed a pension reform without a vote in 2023 changing the retirement age from 62 to 64, justifying it as a way to plug a hole in the pension fund.
The move faced massive resistance and led to major protests across the country.
Bayrou said the increase in the retirement age could be addressed in the new plans.
By showing himself willing to revise the reform, Bayrou is appealing to the Socialists, whose support he needs to ensure his political survival and that of his government.
Bayrou’s government does not have an absolute majority in the National Assembly and the left-wing France Unbowed party has already announced that it intends to call for a vote of no confidence after Bayrou’s government statement on Tuesday.
In December, France’s left-wing camp and the right-wing nationalists led by Marine Le Pen brought down the previous government of Michel Barnier with such a vote.
The Socialists signalled that they would not support the vote of no confidence if Bayrou offered concessions on pensions.
