François Hollande says he is in favor of “suspending the pension reform”

“It is not possible to continue with a reform that has been the subject of so much protest and was adopted with Article 49.3,” said the former President of the Republic and candidate (NFP) for the legislative elections, on franceinfo on Wednesday.

“Everything that is proposed before a vote is a form of combination,” denounced François Hollande on franceinfo on Wednesday July 3, while Prime Minister Gabriel Attal spoke out on Monday in favor of a “Plural National Assembly” bringing together groups from the right, the centre and the left. The former President of the Republic refuses any coalition before the second round of early legislative elections on Sunday.

Candidate under the banner of the New Popular Front in Corrèze, he believes that Gabriel Attal’s proposal represents “politics as it has been practiced for seven years”to know “a distant, remote policy, made of combinations or supposed excesses”. For the former head of state, the voters have rather “need for stability, consistency and clarity”.

François Hollande therefore considers that discussions around future projects under the next mandate must open after the election. “Depending on the composition of the Assembly, there will be choices to be made” and these discussions will then have to focus “on proposals”, and not on this or that personality, he maintains. The former president specifies that these proposals will have to come from the “group with the most deputies”.

The New Popular Front candidate is arguing in particular for “a suspension of the pension reform”, A few days before the second round of early legislative elections. François Hollande clarifies that he is not in favor of withdrawing, but of suspending this reform in order to return to the text voted on under his mandate, namely the Touraine law. “It is not possible to continue with a reform that has been the subject of so much protest and was adopted with Article 49.3,” castigates the socialist. The former President of the Republic also mentions the “subject of purchasing power of salaries, pensions”, “the question of public services, and in particular access to care”but also “European politics”education or even “foreign policy” and in particular the question of aid to Ukraine.

François Hollande is now also in favour of proportional representation. The former president acknowledges having “long been very reserved” on this voting method, fearing that this “may make the assemblies ungovernable.” But he now seems to have changed his mind. “given the fragmentation of French politics, the difficulty in making withdrawals and the frustrations that this can cause”. “This would allow for representation in line with what voters want.”he adds.