French lawmakers narrowly approve health care budget, suspending Macron's flagship pension reform

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PARIS (AP) — France’s lower house of parliament narrowly approved on Tuesday a key health care budget bill, offering the minority government some relief from political turmoil at the cost of suspending President Emmanuel Macron's flagship pension reform.

The bill passed by 247 votes in favor while 234 lawmakers voted against.

The Social Security budget includes the suspension of Macron’s unpopular pension changes, which raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, until after the next presidential election in 2027.

With no majority at the National Assembly, centrist Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu offered to put the reform on hold as a concession to the Socialists, who voted for the bill. The move aims to prevent his fragile minority government from being toppled.

French politics have been in turmoil since Macron called early parliamentary elections in June last year which resulted in a deeply fragmented legislature.

Macron appointed Lecornu, 39, in September after budget debates led to the fall of previous prime ministers. Lecornu promised he would seek compromises with lawmakers from the left and the right to pass bills.

Lecornu will soon face another major hurdle as lawmakers prepare to vote later this month on the state budget for 2026. The prime minister vowed to prioritize decreasing France's ballooning deficit.

France’s previous prime minister was ousted over plans to cut 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in public spending, meant to rein in debt of the European Union’s second-largest economy.

France’s deficit hit 5.8% of gross domestic product last year, way above the official EU target of 3%.

The country has a high level of public spending driven by generous social welfare programs, health care and education — and a heavy tax burden that falls short of covering the costs.