The move has incensed workers after years of dispute over other controversial measures, including increasing the pension age from 62 to 64.
Macron signed the pension changes into law in April 2023, but his plan provoked major protests, leading Bayrou to declare in January this year that he would renegotiate the policy.
People on the beach in Marseille. The plan to scrap two public holidays has set off a political storm in France.Credit: Bloomberg
After the talks with unions and employers, however, the prime minister continued with the overall proposal, despite adjusting some details.
The French plan means that most workers born after January 1, 1968, would not receive the pension until they turned 64. In Australia, workers born after January 1, 1957, do not receive the aged pension until they turn 67.
In a sign of the anxiety about debt, Bayrou this week urged voters to accept a total freeze in spending – something that requires unpopular cuts and is rarely achieved in any Western democracy, including Australia.
“The rule is to spend no more in 2026 than in 2025. No less, no more,” he said.
Gross public debt has reached 114 per cent of gross domestic product in France, the third-highest level in the European Union after Greece and Italy. It is 62 per cent in Germany.
Although the next French presidential election is not until 2027, Le Pen and the National Rally have seized on the plan to blame Macron for budget cuts and demand tougher migration policies instead.
Le Pen played a key role in removing the previous prime minister, and her party has the largest bloc in the National Assembly, giving it the capacity to oust Bayrou over the budget if the left-wing parties support the move.
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National Rally president Jordan Bardella is positioning himself as the party’s candidate for the presidency at the next election, when Macron cannot run due to term limits in the constitution. Le Pen is barred from seeking public office for five years after a court found her and some members of her party guilty in March of misappropriation of funds.
In another challenge for the right-wing party, police raided the National Rally’s head office on Wednesday over allegations of donations-law violations.
The upheaval in France highlights the financial malady for major European nations when their debts deepen, but leaders are stymied by political blowback when they attempt to limit spending.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer abandoned plans to scale back welfare spending on July 1 after dozens of his Labour Party backbenchers rebelled against the plans, gutting the projected savings.
In contrast, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz outlined a budget last month that takes on more debt to spend on defence and infrastructure.
With Reuters
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