French PM Sébastien Lecornu secures a narrow 13-vote victory as lawmakers approve next year social security budget, marking a political win for government.
According to News.Az, citing international media, the bill's passage in the more powerful National Assembly is encouraging for the future of Lecornu's minority government and for financial markets concerned about France's capacity to control its skyrocketing budget deficit. The bill is still up for vote in the French Senate.
Following the vote, Lecornu, whose two direct predecessors were unable to approve social security budgets, commended legislators for their "responsibility" in passing the measure.
"Making compromises is not a slogan, it means moving forward for the common good,"
he said in a post on X.
It was anticipated that the vote would be close because many believed the administration had lost the backing of important centrists and conservatives who believed the text did not go far enough in reducing France's budget deficit, which is forecast to be 5.4% of GDP.
Still, the maturity of MPs from the conservative Les Républicains either abstained or supported the bill, while all 91 members of French President Emmanuel Macron's party, Renaissance, eventually suggested in favor of it.
A gap between the administration and Edouard Philippe, Macron's first high minister and a contender for chairman in 2027, was also revealed by Tuesday's vote. Philippe believed that the law would not be sufficient to reduce the deficiency. The maturity of parliamentarians from Philippe's small center-right party abstained despite being longstanding Macron musketeers.
The social security law was commonly opposed by France's political axes, the far- left France Unbowed and the far-right National Rally.
Lecornu's triumph on Tuesday seems to support his strategy of attempting to reach a compromise in France's deadlocked parliament, at least temporarily. In October, the prime minister decided against utilizing a constitutional backdoor to pass legislation without a vote in order to secure his political survival. Instead, he allowed parliamentary debates to go on for weeks in the hopes that lawmakers would reach an agreement.
Lecornu might have lost his job if the legislation had been rejected. At that point, President Emmanuel Macron would have had to choose between calling a snap election that may bolster the position of the far-right National Rally or searching for a sixth prime minister in less than two years.
Lecornu won't have much time to rejoice because consensus on the state budget, a different piece of legislation, has proven to be more difficult.
"It will be difficult. Possibly even more than these last couple of weeks,"
Lecornu wrote on X.
How will the suspension of the pension reform affect the 2027 election polls?
The suspense of France's 2023 pension reform indurating the withdrawal age at 62 and donation ages until post-2027 choices aims to neutralize a major namer flashpoint but risks mixed polling impacts ahead of 2027 presidential and legislative races.
Nobel economist Philippe Aghion argued it averts far-right( RN) dominance by removing austerity counterreaction, potentially lifting Macron abettors like Lecornu by 5- 7 in moderates' vote share per literal data onpre-election duty/ spendingU-turns, appealing to 3.5 million affected workers.
Opponents advise it signals weakness, inflating poverties by€ 400 million in 2026 and €1.8 billion in 2027, eroding trust in financial responsibility; pates show RN and LFI gaining 2- 4 as voters frame it a" laid over pain," per Bloomberg and Le Monde analyses amid ongoing chaos.