Suspension of pension reform approved by the Council of Ministers, its financing criticized

After several days of prevarication over the legislative vehicle - amendment, separate bill, etc. - the option of a corrective letter to the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) was finally ratified during a special Council of Ministers chaired, via videoconference, by President Emmanuel Macron from Brussels.

"A guarantee of clarity and transparency, this inclusion in the initial text," demanded by the RN and the left, "aims to guarantee the holding of a fair and sincere parliamentary debate," Matignon stressed in a press release as the examination of the PLFSS begins Monday in Parliament.

The project postpones the implementation of the Borne reform from 2023. It suspends the move towards 64 years of age until January 2028, as does the increase in the number of quarters required to contribute to retire at full rate.

This suspension will cost 100 million euros in 2026 and 1,4 billion euros in 2027, according to the corrective letter revealed Wednesday by the economic daily Les Échos and of which AFP obtained a copy.

To finance the measure, supplementary health insurance and retirees will be called upon to contribute, according to the document.

The under-indexation of pensions in relation to inflation, initially planned at 0,4 points, will be increased by a further 0,5 points in 2027, which will weigh on the purchasing power of retirees.

The contribution rate for supplementary organizations (mutual insurance companies, health insurance, etc.) will increase from 2,05% to 2,25% in 2026.

"Fool's Game"

But these controversial options do not constitute "the definitive proposal," Sébastien Lecornu assured on Thursday on the sidelines of a trip to Romainville (Seine-Saint-Denis).

"The amending letter is what will allow the debate to take place until the end," he insisted, promising that the government could even "amend the letter itself" if an alternative "compromise" emerged on funding.

While the government had already indicated that retirement pensions and social benefits would be frozen in 2026 to curb the spiral of public spending, the additional tightening announced in the letter has sparked widespread criticism.

"The poorest cannot bear such a measure," Yvan Ricordeau, number two at the CFDT, told AFP. "We are making current and future retirees pay for a micro-suspension of the reform," lamented Denis Gravouil, confederal secretary of the CGT.

On the left, La France Insoumise denounced "a fool's game." "Pensioners will retire three months earlier, but with a lower pension," noted the chairman of the Finance Committee, Eric Coquerel.

The National Rally, also in favor of the suspension, also denounced the financing of the measure.

"They always hit the same people. And in this case, obviously, retirees are being hit quite hard by this budget," denounced Marine Le Pen, president of the National Front deputies, from the National Assembly.

In this tense climate, Mr. Lecornu again attempted on Thursday to display a conciliatory and optimistic line.

He thus refused to describe the rejection of part of the state budget in committee in the Assembly as a "failure," seeing it as a "first lap" before arriving in the chamber on Friday. There, it will be necessary to "find ways to compromise," he urged.

But after securing the suspension of pension reform, the Socialist Party has no intention of loosening its grip. Especially since the Socialists are under pressure on their left flank from the Insoumis (Rebellious) party, who are criticizing their decision not to immediately censure the Lecornu II government.

Significant "tax justice" measures are therefore needed, urged the leader of the Socialist deputies, Boris Vallaud, in Le Parisien on Thursday evening.

"If the central bloc is not capable of voting for the Zucman tax (...) if it is not capable of voting for the wealth tax on billionaires that we have worked on and that we will propose, if it is not capable of fiscal justice, I am not sure that it will be possible to discuss what comes next. The budget debate will stop very quickly," he insisted.

A threat heralding heated discussions this weekend.