MEPs approve in committee the repeal of the pension reform

This is a first step which suggests a repeal, by the Assembly, of the last two pension reforms. The deputies of the Social Affairs Committee adopted at midday on Wednesday the text tabled by the La France insoumise (LFI) group as part of its parliamentary niche, which will be held next Thursday, November 28. Unsurprisingly, all the left-wing forces and the elected representatives of the National Rally, all fiercely opposed to the postponement of the starting age to 64, united their voices so that a return to 62 could be debated in the Hemicycle. . In total, 35 deputies on the committee approved the text, 16 opposed it, all from the center and the right.

The LFI text also provides for a return to 42 years of contributions to be able to retire. This amounts to a repeal of the Touraine law, adopted during the five-year term of François Hollande, which had increased the contribution period to 43 years. This second measure had generated a debate in the socialist ranks, some of them continuing to defend this measure carried by their political family in 2014 to “guarantee the future and justice of the pension system”. But resentment towards the age measure contained in the 2023 Borne reform prevailed. An amendment tabled by a deputy from the small Liot group, Laurent Panifous, a former socialist incidentally, could make it possible to preserve the provisions of the Touraine law while returning to the age measurement.

The increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 is particularly unpopular. A Toluna/Harris Interactive survey published Tuesday brings the share of French people in favor of its repeal to 71%. The RN deputies were the first to want to take advantage of their parliamentary niche, on October 31, to return to the Borne reform. But after an intense internal debate, the left ended up giving up supporting the Lepenist initiative, counting on the LFI niche to achieve its ends. The New Popular Front has actually planned to include the text of LFI in the Senate – if it is adopted in the Assembly on Thursday November 28 – during a slot of communist senators set for January 23, 2025. After its probable rejection in the Chambe Haute, could then return for second reading in the National Assembly at the beginning of February during the niche of the environmental group.