Pensions debate reopened

France’s new prime minister, François Bayrou, has reopened the controversial issue of pensions reform, inviting unions and employers to negotiate a “balanced accord”.

He made his proposal in a speech to the National Assembly on 14 January setting out his broad political programme.

One of the most contested changes, introduced in 2023, was the gradual increase in the pension age from 62 to 64, and Bayrou accepted in his speech that this change “continues to bother our country”.