French Prime Minister vows to focus on stability, dialogue, pension reform

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said Tuesday his government will focus on stability, dialogue and profound reforms, especially on pensions. To reduce the deficit to 5.4 percent of GDP by 2025 and further to around 3 percent by 2029, Bayrou urged all ministries to implement profound reforms.

He announced plans to sell public assets to establish a special fund dedicated to state reform, financed through real estate assets. Bayrou assured that his government would limit tax hikes and pursue a "massive de-bureaucratization" to simplify processes for citizens and businesses.

Bayrou also vowed to reopen talks on reforming pensions, which he describes as "vital" for France. Dismissing the idea of suspending or repealing the disputed 2023 law, which set the retirement age to rise to 63 by the end of 2026 and 64 by 2030, Bayrou said he would present a new version of the pension reform in the budget bill for 2026.