The National Assembly adopted the Social Security Financing Bill for 2026 on Tuesday, by 247 votes to 232, marking the first budget validation without using Article 49.3 since 2022. The text includes the suspension of the 2023 pension reform, secured through compromises with the Socialist Party. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's government hails this hard-won victory.
On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, in the late afternoon, the National Assembly definitively adopted the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) for 2026, by 247 votes in favor and 232 against. This confirms the previous week's vote, after the Senate rejected the text, which had altered several provisions, including the removal of the article suspending the pension reform.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu secured this success through intense negotiations, particularly with the Socialist Party, which voted overwhelmingly in favor (63 out of 69 PS deputies). The Macronist and MoDem groups supported the bill, while Ecologists mostly abstained (27 abstentions), and Republicans were divided (18 for, 28 abstentions). LFI, communists, RN, and UDR voted against.
The PLFSS projects a Social Security deficit reduced to 19.6 billion euros in 2026, a 3% increase in the national health spending target (gain of 8 billion), and suspension until 2028 of raising the legal retirement age from 62 to 64. Several controversial government measures, such as freezing social benefits, were rejected.
This compromise avoids using Article 49.3, amid a lack of absolute majority. Attention now turns to the state budget, with a joint committee scheduled for Friday.
