Macron finally admits he (maybe) got it wrong on pensions – POLITICO

PARIS — To save his latest government from the short-lived fate of his last, French President Emmanuel Macron had to do something that no politician ever wants to do: Admit he might have been wrong.

In a startling about-turn on another day of high drama in French politics, Macron on Tuesday appeared to give tacit approval to Sébastien Lecornu, his hand-picked prime minister, to freeze an unpopular law raising the retirement age until the presidential election in 2027.

The Socialist Party, whose 69 lawmakers hold the balance of power in France’s National Assembly, hinted that it would not seek to remove Lecornu and his government from office following the announcement, which was made during the PM's first speech to parliament. However, the party will continue to wield the threat of a no-confidence motion until it sees "words are translated into action," Socialist parliamentary leader Boris Vallaud said.
 
With most other opposition parties vowing to try to topple Lecornu, the Socialists’ decision gives the government some breathing room following one of the most turbulent political periods in modern French history.
 
Lecornu's first cabinet lasted just 14 hours, and its resignation thrust France into a spiral of political chaos that jolted financial markets concerned over whether the eurozone’s second-largest economy was so ungovernable it would be unable to make the billions of euros in cuts necessary to rein in a budget deficit projected to hit 5.4 percent of gross domestic product this year.