ISTANBUL
France’s Socialist Party (PS) signaled on Tuesday that it will not join efforts to topple Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s government, offering a brief window of political relief after weeks of turbulence in Paris.
The center-left party’s stance came after Lecornu announced that he would suspend the implementation of the 2023 pension reform until the next presidential election, responding to a key demand from the opposition left.
PS lawmaker Laurent Baumel told French news broadcaster BFMTV that his party would not vote for the no-confidence motions introduced by the far-right National Rally (RN) and the far-left France Unbowed (LFI), both of which aim to bring down Lecornu’s government.
“This decision to suspend the reform is a step in the right direction,” Baumel said, emphasizing that the Socialists would not side with “those who only seek chaos.”
Addressing parliament, PS deputy group leader Boris Vallaud described the suspension as “a victory for the left,” saying the government’s U-turn showed that months of social mobilization had paid off.
The pension reform, pushed through in 2023 under former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and later defended by successive governments, sought to gradually raise France’s retirement age from 62 to 64, triggering one of the longest strike waves in decades.
Lecornu, who returned to office last week after briefly resigning amid political turmoil, told lawmakers that he would propose a bill this autumn to freeze the reform until January 2028, keeping the contribution period at 170 quarters.
Months of political turbulence
The Socialists’ announcement came against the backdrop of the ongoing government instability in France, marked by repeated Cabinet collapses and budget standoffs.
Former Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s center-right government fell on Dec. 4, 2024, after losing a confidence vote over the 2025 budget. His successor, Francois Bayrou, faced similar challenges when his controversial 2026 draft budget, which included plans to abolish several public holidays to save €43 billion, failed to win parliamentary approval.
Bayrou’s government lost a confidence vote in September, paving the way for President Emmanuel Macron to appoint then-Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister on Sept. 9.
Lecornu’s first government lasted barely a day, he resigned under pressure on Oct. 6, only to be reappointed on Oct. 10. His new Cabinet, unveiled on Oct. 12, immediately faced two no-confidence motions from RN and LFI lawmakers, both due to be debated on Oct. 16.