And in the end, Macronism had to, at least in part, give in to the demands of the left-wing parties, which together have over 230 seats out of 577 in the National Assembly and without which therefore the new government of Sebastien Lecornu cannot leave. The French Prime Minister, re-appointed by Emmanuel Macron after his resignation a week ago, thus sent a signal of openness to the socialist front in his general policy speech by announcing that the much-debated pension reform, on which the left had announced barricades, will be postponed until the next presidential election in 2027. Nothing will be done in this final term of Macron's mandate, even though the centrist front he leads – but a minority in Parliament – has been pushing for a reform that would help ease France's heavy public debt.
In addition to putting pensions on hold, Lecornu also announced 29 tax measures, which include contribution relief for those who earn less and a tax increase for those who earn more. Something that it resembles the so-called Zucman Tax on millionaire assets, but that's not exactly it. Now the ball is in the political arena, but the feeling is that Lecornu's outstretched hand may not be enough. The left-wing front is split between those, like the mayor of Saint-Denis and secretary of the Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, who recognize the prime minister's words as "a first victory," and those, like the coordinator of Mélenchon's party, Manuel Bompard, however, does not want to know"This is just a stall. I urge the Socialists not to vote confidence in the new government." The PS, however, through Boris Vallaud, has declared itself willing to accept the challenge of parliamentary debate. Paradoxically, however, the centrist reformists, the great supporters of Macronism and the need for structural measures to fix the disastrous public finances once and for all, are taking a cold stance. Representatives like Eric Ciotti of the UDR are accusing Lecornu of "being held hostage by the Socialist Party."
The failure to reform pensions, Lecornu explained in his speech, it will cost 400 million euros in 2026 but above all 1,8 billion in 2027"and will therefore have to be compensated for with further cuts," he warned, especially since the government has no intention of exceeding the 5% deficit-to-GDP ratio. Regarding the taxation of large fortunes, Lecornu acknowledged "some anomalies" and called for a one-off tax on these assets in the next budget, but the Socialists are instead calling for a structural reform of tax justice. Rather than a full-blown Zucman Tax, Lecornu is instead proposing a minimum tax of 20% on assets exceeding €250.000 for a single person or €500.000 for a couple, and a tax on asset holding companies, those often created specifically to evade taxes. These two measures are expected to generate €2,5 billion in benefits for the public finances.
