{"id":2697,"date":"2025-10-16T21:47:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2697"},"modified":"2025-10-16T21:47:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:47:23","slug":"frances-lecornu-sacrifices-macrons-pension-reform-to-survive-no-confidence-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2697","title":{"rendered":"France&#8217;s Lecornu Sacrifices Macron&#8217;s Pension Reform to Survive No-Confidence Votes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at a fragile alliance in <strong>France<\/strong>\u2019s Parliament, potential covert <strong>U.S. <\/strong>operations inside <strong>Venezuela<\/strong>, and coalition-building talks in <strong>Japan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Bargaining Chips<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>French Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly on Thursday, dodging what would have been the second time that the French government had collapsed in less than two weeks. But his survival came at a hefty price, and with 2026 budget negotiations kicking off next week, Lecornu is not out of hot water yet.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at a fragile alliance in <strong>France<\/strong>\u2019s Parliament, potential covert <strong>U.S. <\/strong>operations inside <strong>Venezuela<\/strong>, and coalition-building talks in <strong>Japan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Bargaining Chips<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>French Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly on Thursday, dodging what would have been the second time that the French government had collapsed in less than two weeks. But his survival came at a hefty price, and with 2026 budget negotiations kicking off next week, Lecornu is not out of hot water yet.<\/p>\n<p>France is in the midst of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/oct\/15\/frances-parliamentary-quagmire-is-the-dawning-of-a-new-political-reality\">worst political crisis<\/a> in decades. The French Parliament is deeply divided, with the far left and far right both denouncing French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s controversial pension reform plan. Such dissent has made passing a deficit-reducing budget near impossible, and it has forced Macron to replace his premier three times in a year (four, if you\u2019re counting Lecornu\u2019s resignation earlier this month, after which he was reappointed just days later).<\/p>\n<p>To survive Thursday\u2019s votes, Lecornu sacrificed a major economic policy. On Tuesday, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/14\/world\/europe\/france-political-crisis-pension.html\">offered to suspend<\/a> Macron\u2019s pension reform plan (including an <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2023\/01\/24\/france-macron-pension-protests-retirement-age\/\">increase of the retirement age<\/a>) until after the 2027 presidential election. In exchange, he secured the backing of the Socialist Party, though seven lawmakers belonging to or affiliated with the Socialists still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/16\/world\/europe\/france-lecornu-no-confidence-vote.html\">broke ranks<\/a> on Thursday to vote in favor of his ouster.<\/p>\n<p>By delaying the pension reform plan, which sparked <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2023\/03\/24\/macron-france-protests-pension-reform-politics\/\">monthslong anti-government protests<\/a> in 2023 after Macron announced that he would move forward with it, Lecornu risks killing off one of Macron\u2019s central economic promises. This could leave the French president with <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2023\/05\/01\/france-macron-pension-reform-democracy-citizens-assemblies\/\">few domestic achievements<\/a> after eight years in office.<\/p>\n<p>However, with the Socialists\u2019 support, the hard left\u2019s no-confidence motion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/french-pm-faces-day-reckoning-likely-survive-no-confidence-votes-2025-10-16\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=101625&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">failed<\/a> with 271 votes, just 18 votes short of what was needed to dissolve Lecornu\u2019s 4-day-old government. A second motion, tabled by the far-right National Rally party, failed by a larger margin, with only 144 lawmakers in favor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is obviously the moment of truth,\u201d Lecornu told parliamentarians ahead of the vote. \u201cDo not take the budget for the nation and the budget for our social security as hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Such budget negotiations will begin on Monday and are expected to last weeks. Lecornu\u2019s draft proposes lowering Paris\u2019s deficit to between 4.7 percent and 5 percent of the nation\u2019s GDP; France\u2019s 2024 deficit sat at <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/08\/france-francois-bayrou-confidence-vote-budget-debt-macron-snap-elections\/\">5.8 percent<\/a>, nearly double the European Union\u2019s 3 percent limit.<\/p>\n<p>But Lecornu will not be able to rely on the Socialists to pass his budget and win Macron a much-needed parliamentary victory. The Socialists have warned Lecornu that they will vote down his proposal if their demands are not met; specifically, the party wants a tax on billionaires added to the budget. \u201cOur decision not to vote the government down today is by no means a pact,\u201d Socialist lawmaker Laurent Baumel said. \u201cWe are not committing to anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, opponents on the far left and far right are continuing to call for snap elections as well as for Macron\u2019s resignation before his term ends in 2027. \u201cThe Lecornu government is on borrowed time,\u201d \u00c9ric Coquerel of the left-wing France Unbowed party <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ericcoquerel\/status\/1978771428892610833\">wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cThe battle over the budget begins.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What We\u2019re Following<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Covert operations in Venezuela. <\/strong>U.S. President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/15\/us\/politics\/trump-covert-cia-action-venezuela.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tk8.LBIe.4ZGjtoJ5wEm1&amp;smid=url-share\">confirmed<\/a> on Wednesday that the White House had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, citing two reasons. \u201cNo. 1, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America,\u201d Trump claimed. \u201cAnd the other thing, the drugs, we have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea.\u201d However, he did not say whether he had yet ordered such operations to be carried out.<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, the United States has launched a series of attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, killing at least 27 people. Early this month, a leaked memo revealed that Trump had declared <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/04\/venezuela-naval-deployment-drug-cartels\/\">drug cartels<\/a> to be unlawful combatants, saying Washington was now in an \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/02\/us\/politics\/trump-drug-cartels-war.html\">armed conflict<\/a>\u201d with them. And on Wednesday, he suggested that the White House was \u201clooking at land\u201d in Venezuela as potential future targets.<\/p>\n<p>Caracas was quick to denounce Trump\u2019s comments. \u201cThis unprecedented statement constitutes a very serious violation of international law and the United Nations\u2019 Charter and obliges the community of countries to denounce these clearly immoderate and inconceivable statements,\u201d Venezuela\u2019s foreign ministry said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/prensapresidencial\/24818\">statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A new coalition partner? <\/strong>Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected head of Japan\u2019s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), held <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aa.com.tr\/en\/asia-pacific\/japans-ruling-opposition-party-begin-coalition-talks\/3719029\">coalition-building talks<\/a> with leaders of the right-wing Japan Innovation Party on Thursday in an effort to secure enough outside support to make her the country\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/02\/sanae-takaichi-japan-first-female-prime-minister\/\">next prime minister<\/a>. The parties are expected to meet again on Friday before making a final decision next Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Takaichi\u2019s bid for the premiership had appeared all but certain when the LDP, in power almost continuously since 1955, chose her to succeed Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/30\/japan-ishiba-prime-minister-elections\/\">Shigeru Ishiba<\/a>. But the Komeito party\u2019s decision last Friday to withdraw from the long-held coalition has brought <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/asia\/2025\/10\/16\/takaichi-sanaes-path-to-power-in-japan-grows-more-complex\">new unpredictability<\/a> to her appointment.<\/p>\n<p>If the Innovation Party chooses to align with the LDP, then Takaichi\u2019s party will be just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/japan-ldps-takaichi-explores-coalition-with-right-leaning-party-premiership-bid-2025-10-16\/\">two seats<\/a> short of a majority in Japan\u2019s lower house, making it far easier for Takaichi to take office. But LDP lawmakers must move quickly before the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party convinces Innovation to instead join its alliance with the Democratic Party for the People (DPFP) and back DPFP leader Yuichiro Tamaki for the premiership.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Too dangerous to function. <\/strong>M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSF) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msf.org\/msf-announces-permanent-closure-our-turgeau-emergency-centre-port-au-prince\">announced<\/a> on Wednesday that it would permanently close its emergency care center in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, citing <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/03\/haiti-blackwater-international-peacekeeping-mission\/\">surging gang violence<\/a>. Having moved to the neighborhood of Turgeau in 2021 for security reasons, the center now joins the more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.doctorswithoutborders.org\/latest\/civilians-haiti-are-caught-deadly-escalating-violence\">60 percent<\/a> of Port-au-Prince health care facilities that have shuttered or become nonfunctional in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe building has already been hit several times by stray bullets due to its location close to the combat zones, which would make resuming activities too dangerous for both patients and staff,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/haiti-msf-doctors-without-borders-center-closes-violence-68595071309e258e9c67ca233eb31822?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire_16%20Oct_2025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">Jean-Marc Biquet<\/a>, the MSF head of mission in Haiti. In March, gunmen opened fire on four MSF vehicles evacuating staff from the facility, forcing a temporary closure.<\/p>\n<p>More than 3,100 people were <a href=\"https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/2025\/10\/16\/doctors-without-borders-closes-turgeau-center-haiti\/\">killed<\/a> and an additional 1,100 others injured across Haiti from January to June, according to the United Nations. And new data on Wednesday showed that the violence has displaced a record <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/nation-world\/world\/americas\/haiti\/article312517131.html\">1.4 million people<\/a>, a 36 percent increase since the end of 2024.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Odds and Ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Where once the U.S. passport was regarded as the strongest in the world, it has since fallen from grace. On Tuesday, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.henleyglobal.com\/newsroom\/press-releases\/henley-global-mobility-report-oct-2025\">Henley Passport Index<\/a>, which ranks countries based on how many destinations a passport-holder can visit without needing a visa, moved the United States from 10th to 12th place\u2014tying it with Malaysia. This is the first time that Washington has fallen below the top 10 since the index\u2019s creation 20 years ago, largely due to <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/24\/trump-immigration-policies-h-1b-visas-fee\/\">Trump\u2019s tightening immigration policies<\/a>. This year\u2019s first-place finisher: Singapore, with 193 visa-free destinations.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/16\/france-lecornu-no-confidence-votes-budget-socialists-pension-reform-macron\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at a fragile alliance in France\u2019s Parliament, potential covert U.S. operations inside Venezuela, and coalition-building talks in Japan. Bargaining Chips French Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly on Thursday, dodging what would have been the second time that the French government [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}