Pension Reform Opposition Reaches End Of Line After LIOT Bill Withdrawal

Effective opposition to President Emmanuel Macron's controversial pension reforms have reached the end of the line after the centrist LIOT group withdrew its bill in the National Assembly after the legislation was stripped of its core measure that would have reversed the increase in the pension age from 62 to 64. Speaker of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet, who hails from Macron's centrist Renaissance Party, ruled on 7 June that the provision was unconstitutional as it placed an unreasonable burden on public finances.

• While the legislative opposition to the reform appears to be over, this does not mean smooth sailing for Macron and PM Elisabeth Borne from hereon in. Given Renaissance and its allies do not hold a majority in the National Assembly, the ill-will created by the pension reform saga is likely to hinder the gov'ts ability to enact legislation for the remainder of the parliamentary term.
• Indeed, the leftist NUPES alliance has stated that it will seek to hold a confidence vote in the Borne gov't early next week. Given the conservative Les Republicains will likely abstain the gov't is set to remain in place.
• However, a lack of legislative action and frequent confidence votes will either sap the gov'ts credibility to the point of snap legislative elections being called well ahead of schedule, or result in a lame-duck parliament sitting until the end of its term in 2027.