PARIS — French pension reform is an “absolute priority” and can be debated as part of next year’s presidential campaign, but the government must now focus on battling Covid-19, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.
Pension reform was a central pillar of President Emmanuel Macron’s drive to create a more flexible and competitive labour market while also reducing the financial burden on state coffers, according to Reuters.
But just nine months away from an election and with France facing a potential new Covid-19 wave due to the Delta variant, Le Maire indicated on Franceinfo radio that the landmark reform would be kicked down the road.
“Pension reform is an absolute priority,” Le Maire said. “In politics you have to know how to do things step by step … at the right time, but now is the time to the fight the pandemic,” he said.
“…It seems legitimate to me that on a subject that engages our collective future, that’s part of the presidential campaign debate,” he said.
Macron’s initial proposal for pension reform infuriated trade unions and provoked weeks of protests and transport strikes just before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Macron put it on hold as he ordered France into lockdown a year and a half ago.
