French PM Faces Twin No-Confidence Votes after Pension Reform Climbdown

Reappointed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faces two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly on Thursday, gambling that a pledge to suspend President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform will peel away enough support on the left to keep his government alive.

The Socialist Party, seen as kingmaker, welcomed the concession and said it would not back the motions tabled by the far left and the far-right National Rally. Even so, the arithmetic is tight: 265 lawmakers have declared for Lecornu’s ouster, just 24 short of the 289 needed.

Lecornu told lawmakers he will table a November amendment to the social-security financing bill to freeze the reform until after the 2027 presidential election. He warned the pause would cost €400 Mln in 2026 and €1.8 Bn in 2027, requiring offsetting savings elsewhere.

The move risks gutting one of Macron’s signature economic policies as France battles strained public finances and tries to pass a deficit-reduction budget through a fragmented lower house. In parallel, the Socialists are pushing to include a billionaire tax in the 2026 budget.

Thursday’s ballots come a week after Lecornu, already France’s shortest-serving premier in modern times before being reappointed, sought to reset relations with a truculent parliament split into three blocs. A defeat would trigger a second government collapse in as many weeks.

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