French parliament approves social security budget – POLITICO

PARIS — French lawmakers formally approved the country's 2026 social security budget on Tuesday, handing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu an important political victory and offering some optimism to skittish markets worried France isn't serious about getting its public finances in check.

The bill, which covers state health care and pensions spending, was expected to pass after having already been approved by the National Assembly, France's more powerful lower legislative chamber, last week, but its rejection by the Senate over the weekend forced another vote.

The conservative Senate rejected the measure in part over concerns the legislation does not sufficiently bring down the budget deficit. As part of a compromise to ensure his government's survival, Lecornu approved a measure in the law that suspends until 2027 the controversial law passed in 2023 that raised the retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64.