French prime minister François Bayrou set out the parameters of his government’s political project in his first major policy address on January 14, focusing on voting reforms, a renegotiation of the pension reform bill, and plans for the new budget.
However there was little in the way of concrete detail on any issues raised.
It is traditional for new French prime ministers to give a speech at the start of their mandate to outline their political direction.
Mr Bayrou’s address however comes amid considerable uncertainty after the former government failed to pass a budget for 2025, with political pressure from all sides of the political spectrum.
Read more: Month by month: What are key tax dates in France in 2025?
In a relatively low-key 90-minute speech, Mr Bayou sought to address the points of his political opponents, offering immigration reform to appeal to the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and the prospect of a renegotiation of the retirement age to appeal to the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) alliance.
Below we cover the key points covered.
On pension reform
Mr Bayrou says he will open negotiations on pension reform with nothing off the table – ”not even the age of retirement.”
“I hope that we can reach an agreement… but if our partners cannot [with us], the current law will continue to apply.”
The Socialist Party have previously said they will back a motion of no-confidence against Mr Bayrou – a motion already backed by all other parties on the left – if he fails to make concessions on the current status of the bill.
On France’s deficit
“The debt is a sword of Damocles hanging over our country and our social model,” said Mr Bayrou. "All parties are responsible for the situation.”
He added that his government would aim for a deficit of 5.4% of GDP in 2025.
The deficit was predicted to have reached 6.1% in 2024 after reaching 5.5% in 2023.
On the new budget
Local authorities will be asked to make €2.2 billion of cuts in the new budget, compared to the planned €5 billion under the previous (now scrapped) budget of Michel Barnier.
“Local authorities are responsible for a large proportion of our country's investment, much more than the State. 70% of our country's investment is carried out by local authorities,” said the prime minister.
“My government will consolidate progress on long-awaited issues such as water and sanitation, and the status and protection of elected representatives. Parliamentary initiatives will have to succeed,” he added.
Measures from Mr Barnier’s budget regarding the full reimbursement of wheelchairs will be maintained, but plans to remove certain drugs and medical appointments from state reimbursement will be abandoned.
However, details on any other additions to the budget were scarce.
Ministers in the new government have previously announced they are open to increasing taxes on airline ticket sales, a controversial measure included in Mr Barnier’s former budget that led to strikes and threats by major airline Ryanair to pull out of ten regional French airports.
Read more: Flight taxes: French minister in favour of raising controversial fees
On voting reform
“Pluralism also presupposes that everyone finds representation in proportion to the votes they have received,” Mr Bayrou said.
“I propose that we move forward on the reform of the legislative voting system.”
Mr Bayrou is in favour of a proportional representation system, which could see seats shared out between parties depending on the number of votes they receive across a wider area (department, region, or even nationally), as opposed to the current First Past The Post (FPTP system), where only the MP with the most votes is elected in the constituency.
However, the prime minister defended the need for representation at local level by MPs.
On French bureaucracy and changes to the state
The prime minister spoke of a need to ‘de-bureaucratise’ France to simplify life for residents.
He also announced a special fund that will be solely used to reorganise the French state, financed in part by real estate taxes.
The fund will partly be used to increase the rollout of AI in French public services.
Talks over the status of New Caledonia, which faced violent riots last year, and the constitutional situation of Corsica, are also planned.
On immigration
Mr Bayrou spoke of the need for a “policy of control, regulation and expulsion of those whose presence - due to their numbers - endangers the cohesion of the nation.”
“When a foreign family settles in a village in the Pyrenees or Cevennes, it's a movement of generosity that is generated - children are celebrated and cared for at school, parents receive all the signs of mutual aid,” he said. “But when 30 families move in, the village feels threatened.”
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who held the same position under former prime minister Michel Barnier, plans to table a new immigration bill this year.
Read more: What changes are proposed in the planned new French immigration law?
‘No ambition’: response from far-right
The far-left La France Insoumise party has already said they will present a motion de censure (no confidence vote) on Thursday, supported by the Greens and Communist Party.
However this needs a parliamentary majority to topple Mr Bayrou’s government, which would require the support of the far-right RN.
“It was a speech with no ambition,” said far-right MP Sébastien Chenu (RN) after Mr Bayrou’s speech, which he described as “dull and soporific”.
“There were no concrete measures or deadlines or information about the budget, however we will only start a vote of no confidence based on actions, not on words,“ he said.
