French Prime Minister François Bayrou on Tuesday vowed to reopen talks on reforming pensions as he conceded the country's spiralling debt problems would preoccupy government planning over the coming parliamentary sessions.
During a 90-minute address to the National Assembly, Bayrou said: "I have decided to put the pensions issue back on the table, with the social partners, for a short time and under transparent conditions."
The 73-year-old, who replaced Michel Barnier last December, said the review would be done without any restrictions.
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President Emmanuel Macron pledged to revamp France's complicated system of pensions as part of his second term in office. The proposals led to widespread protests over the key plank of the reforms - raising the retirement age to 63 by the end of 2026 and 64 by 2030.
Ushering in the rethink, Bayou said the timeline gave the review panel a window of opportunity.
"But I would like to set a shorter-term deadline, in the autumn, when the next social security funding bill will be discussed," he added.
Bayrou, in his first major policy speech to French MPs, told them that he was going to ask the Cour des Comptes (independent auditors of public finances) to draw up detailed figures for the review.
"I am convinced that we can seek a new path of reform without totems or taboos, not even the retirement age is exempt, provided that it meets the requirements set - not to worsen the financial equilibrium of the system, which would be an unforgivable mistake,” he said.
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Reforming pensions
The review panel is likely to consist of unions and employers' organisations as well as government officials. Bayrou added: "If, in the course of this conclave, this delegation comes up with an agreement that is balanced and fairer, we will adopt it. The matter will be referred to parliament in the next Social Security Financing Bill or before, if necessary by means of a law."
He warned that if no new agreements were struck, the current plan adopted in April 2023 would apply.
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Shortly after Macron signed the pension reform into law, his approval ratings plummeted mainly due to his party's decision to ram the pensions law through parliament without a vote via Article 49.3.
The Socialist party leader, Olivier Faure, said that Macron's move showed disdain towards the anti-pension protest movement while hard-left MP François Ruffin denounced the action as a democratic hold-up.
Advocates of the changes say they are necessary to avoid annual pension deficits forecast to hit 13.5 billion euros by 2030, according to government figures.
Bayrou's move to look again at pensions is regarded as a conciliatory gesture to critics of Macron's brainchild. But the prime minister faces a challenge to find a common voice over the budget plan for 2025.
The failure to gain a consensus led to Barnier's downfall in a no-confidence vote last year after only three months in office.
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Sword of Damocles
Bayrou, like Barnier, lacks a majority in the National Assembly and could be dispatched just as theatrically if he fails to win backing from enough opposition MPs.
"This debt is a sword of Damocles over our country and our social model," Bayrou said. "We have many reasons to worry, but one emerges with resounding force: our excessive debt."
France is under pressure from the European Commission for overspending and from high refinancing costs demanded by financial markets.
Bayrou said that the 2025 public-sector deficit target was now projected at 5.4 percent of gross domestic product, against five percent targeted by Barnier's administration.
"The task that the country has set us is to return to stability," Bayrou added.
Most observers expect the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party to lodge a no-confidence motion after Bayrou's speech but this cannot take place without the support of the Socialist party.
"They give the impression of being very active," said Green party leader Marine Tondelier about the government's efforts at compromise. "But the outcome is meagre," she told the French news agency AFP.
(With newswires)
