France: The National Assembly approved the suspension of the pension reform, raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years, with 255 votes in favor.

The National Assembly of France voted on Wednesday, with a significant majority, to suspend the pension reform adopted in 2023, which provided for raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. The vote was 255 in favor and 146 against, with the support of the socialists, ecologists, and Rassemblement National, while the France Insoumise and communists opposed it, considering that it is merely a postponement of the implementation of the reform.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu proposed suspending the reform until 2027 to overcome the political deadlock. The suspension will maintain the retirement age for the generation born in 1964 at 62 years and 9 months, instead of 63 years, and will reduce the number of contribution quarters. The costs of the suspension are estimated at 300 million euros in 2026 and 1.9 billion in 2027, in the context of France facing a high public deficit.