A disputed proposal from President Emmanuel Macron on stricter pension rules has been put on hold in hopes of saving the French government.
And it turned out on Thursday to work. Two votes of no confidence were held against Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu in the National Assembly, but in neither was he voted out, report French media.
No confidence had been raised partly by the left-wing party Unsubdued France, partly by the far-right party National Gathering.
Lecornu belongs to Macron's centrist party Renaissance. After the announcement that plans to change the pension system had been postponed, both the Socialists and several other left-wing parties promised him their support. The bourgeois party Republicans announced that they would abstain from voting.
The pension reform has been one of Macron's most important issues and would – with the aim of helping France's crisis-ridden economy – among other things, gradually increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. Now the proposal has been postponed until after the next presidential election in 2027, when Emmanuel Macron cannot run after already having served two terms.
