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French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has informed lawmakers that he backs freezing contentious 2023 pension reforms, ahead of crucial censure votes in the coming days.

The reforms, which increased the pension age from 62 to 64, were seen as key measures in Emmanuel Macron's administration.

"During autumn I will propose to parliament that we freeze the 2023 pension reform until the next presidential vote," the Prime Minister said to support from left-wing parties.

Lecornu was reinstated recently only four days after he resigned, and requires the approval of left-wing lawmakers in the assembly if his administration is to survive.

Parliamentary Dynamics

Political rivals on the far right and left-wing have initiated confidence votes on the cabinet, for midweek and are insisting on new elections.

The Socialists announced they would be ready to support the new government, but only if it guarantees a total freeze of the president's retirement reforms.

"Should he fail to clearly state the words 'full and instant halt of the retirement changes', it will be censure," Socialist MP the socialist politician previously stated on national media.

"His fate lies in his political survival in his own hands. He realizes what he has to do if he doesn't want being the prime minister who steps down every week."

Previous Context

The changes were eventually pushed through lawmakers in March 2023, under a year after the president was elected for a re-election.

There had been an extended period of political debate, labor protests and street protests, and in the end the legislation had to go through without a parliamentary approval in parliament using a constitutional mechanism known as constitutional article 49-3.

Days ago, Lecornu said it was something many French people recalled as a "political scar" .

Financial Implications

On Tuesday he clearly stated to MPs that freezing the pension reform would amount to €400m in the coming years and a additional 1.8 billion euros in 2027. This will have to be "offset through other budget cuts," the Prime Minister stated.

The Prime Minister is France's third prime minister in the past year but even if he does survive he needs to pass a financial plan through parliament that lowers a spending gap projected at over five percent of gross domestic product this year.

The country's public debt in recent months reached €3.4tn, or approximately 114 percent of economic output, the third biggest in the eurozone after the Greek economy and Italy.

Political Strategy

Lecornu has been one of the president's strongest allies, so his move to row back on such a divisive measure demonstrates how determined the president is to prevent more turmoil.

Philippe Aghion, who was co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics on recently, commented that he endorsed a freeze of the retirement changes, because it would still come at a smaller cost than the government collapse that would result from another government collapse.