France’s far right to oppose Macron’s pension reform, Le Pen warns

PARIS (Reuters) – French far-right Rassemblement National leader Marine Le Pen said on Sunday that her party will vote against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms and against the 2023 budget.

“We will oppose Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plans that are unfair and will divide (the country),” Le Pen told a party meeting in Cap d’Agde in southern France.

Macron wants to start implementing the reforms, which mainly consist of a progressive rise to 65 of the legal retirement age, next summer.

France’s far right scored a historic success in legislative elections in June, increasing its lawmakers to 89, from eight in the previous legislature, and cementing the party’s rise from fringe to mainstream opposition.

With the June election, the Rassemblement National has become the second biggest party in parliament, denying Macron’s centrists the absolute majority that would have helped ease through his reforms.

The 2023 budget is due to be debated in coming weeks.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)