Hoping to Steady Political Crisis, French Prime Minister Offers to Suspend Pension Overhaul

Trying to break out of a prolonged political crisis, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu of France on Tuesday proposed suspending an unpopular pension overhaul that raised the legal retirement age until after the next presidential election in 2027.

The move, made in a speech to lawmakers, was a major concession by Mr. Lecornu to the Socialist Party, whose support is necessary to beat back the possibility of no-confidence votes that threatened to topple the government for a second time in less than two weeks.

President Emmanuel Macron had indicated earlier on Tuesday that he was ready to call snap elections if Mr. Lecornu were forced out by a no-confidence motion, which would plunge the country into even more uncertainty after weeks of political instability.

Hampered by a deadlocked Parliament, France has been governed by a succession of unstable, center-right minority cabinets over the last year. Mr. Lecornu, a centrist and close ally of Mr. Macron, resigned last week only to be reappointed just days later, angering opponents who want the French president to call snap legislative elections or even to resign.

France needs a budget by the end of the year to address surging debt and deficits and to reassure businesses, investors and consumers who are unsettled by months of political instability.

The Socialist Party had said in a statement before Mr. Lecornu’s speech that it would file a no-confidence motion if its main demands were not met — especially an immediate suspension of Mr. Macron’s 2023 pension overhaul, a cornerstone of his second term that would raise the age at which workers can start collecting pensions to 64 from 62.