Gabriel Attal and rivals clash over Edouard Philippe's 65-year pension reform plan

Philippe proposes 65-year threshold

Edouard Philippe, leader of the Horizons party and candidate for the 2027 presidential election, announced a revised pension program on 29 September 2026. His platform aims to address forecasted budget deficits and demographic shifts by reviving and expanding previous legislative reforms. Philippe proposed first restoring the statutory provisions of the 2023 reform, which set the retirement age at 64 years and contribution requirements at 43 years, up from the current level of 62 years and nine months with 42.5 contribution years. In the subsequent phase, his timetable raises the statutory age to 65 years and mandates 45 annual contribution payments within less than ten years.

Attal rejects adjustments to existing framework

Gabriel Attal, secretary general of the Renaissance party and former prime minister, dismissed Philippe's proposal during a joint interview on Europe 1 and CNews on 30 September 2026. Attal argued that Philippe repeated Emmanuel Macron's 2022 campaign pledges rather than offering a structural solution for an unstable funding framework.

We are no longer at the stage of moving parameters or sliders, we are no longer at the stage of taking palliative care measures to allow a system to survive when this system objectively no longer holds.

Attal advocated abandoning a universal statutory retirement age altogether, stating that legal age thresholds no longer function effectively to manage pension solvency. He proposed shifting to a model anchored entirely on the total duration of career contributions, incorporating financial incentives and penalties. Under his proposal, individuals who retire early receive a substantial pension discount, while those who work longer obtain a pension premium. To supplement the state-run pay-as-you-go system, Attal also called for a hybrid mechanism integrating individual and collective retirement savings vehicles, including retirement savings plans and life insurance contracts.

Opposition from left and right

Raphael Glucksmann, an MEP representing Place publique and a contender in the primary between the Socialist Party and Place publique, voiced sharp opposition on BFMTV-RMC on 30 September 2026. Glucksmann characterized Philippe's 65-year retirement plan as deeply unacceptable and called for the repeal or suspension of the 2023 law.

The stake of pension reform is that it must be fair, and that we therefore take into account inequality in the face of work and inequality in the face of retirement.

Glucksmann argued for establishing a baseline retirement age of 62 years while introducing an adjusted discount system that accounts for physical strain and job arduousness. Under his party platform, workers in demanding manual professions could exit the workforce at 60, whereas others would contribute for longer periods. On the right, Rassemblement National leader Marine Le Pen continues to support the platform her party has defended since 2022. Her program proposes a return to a standard statutory retirement age of 62 years, with an option to leave at 60 for citizens who started employment prior to turning 20, requiring 40 to 42 years of contributions depending on individual career circumstances.

Shifting positions ahead of 2027

Pensions have re-emerged as a central fault line in French politics ahead of the 2027 presidential race, three years after the contentious 2023 reform was enacted and partially suspended. Demographic projections and impending budgetary deficits have forced declared and anticipated contenders across the political spectrum to advance contrasting structural blueprints. Philippe, previously associated with a 67-year target in 2021, has solidified his stance at 65 years and 45 annuities. The differing proposals presented by Attal, Glucksmann, and Le Pen outline competing economic and social models for the future of the French pension system.