ISTANBUL 

The French National Assembly approved an article of the Social Security budget bill Wednesday that suspends the 2023 pension reform until Jan. 1, 2028, by a wide majority.

By a vote of 255 - 146, lawmakers approved suspending the planned increase of the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 until the next presidential election.

A total of 104 lawmakers abstained.

The measure passed largely with the support of the Socialists, most Green lawmakers and the National Rally, while La France Insoumise, the Republicans and most members of Horizons voted against.

Most Renaissance deputies abstained.

Lawmakers also voted down, 308 - 99, a proposed freeze on retirement pensions and minimum social benefits, a cost-saving measure included in the draft Social Security budget, according to the BFMTV broadcaster.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu proposed suspending the reform on Oct. 14 until the next presidential election, pledging no increase in the retirement age before January 2028 -- responding to a key demand from the opposition left and avoiding censure from the Socialist Party.

The pension reform, pushed through in 2023 under former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and later defended by successive governments, sought to gradually raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, triggering one of the longest strike waves in decades.