French leftists announce legislative steps to scrap Macron's pension reform

By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Nicolas Delame

PARIS (Reuters) -The leftist France Unbowed party announced legislative steps on Tuesday to try to scrap French President Emmanuel Macron's pension changes and reverse a rise in the legal retirement age to 64 from 62.

The right-wing National Rally (RN) quickly offered its support for the legislation proposed by France Unbowed (LFI), potentially boosting its chances of winning parliamentary approval.

Cancelling the pension reform, signed into law last year and aimed at protecting state finances and boosting productivity, is a key goal of the left-wing camp that emerged last month as the strongest parliamentary force after a snap election.

But the left-wing camp fell short of a majority in the election, leaving it dependent on the support of other lawmakers to push through any new legislation.

"We will, today, put down a legal proposition to cancel the pension reforms," Mathilde Panot, who heads the group of LFI lawmakers in the National Assembly, told France Inter radio.

Macron's decision to use special constitutional powers to increase the retirement age and scrap some beneficial rules for certain job categories resulted in violent street protests last year.

Marine Le Pen's RN also campaigned on lowering the retirement age, while Macron's centrist bloc and other centre-right politicians said they would oppose such a move.

"This bill won't pass without the votes of the Rassemblement National. And, in sticking to our programme, we'll be voting for it," RN party spokesman and lawmaker Laurent Jacobelli told BFM TV.

"Your bill will pass thanks to us...and you'll have to say it loud and clear," he said.

Members of the left-wing coalition could, however, face a difficult decision.

While left-wing parties have said many times they are united in their determination to reduce the retirement age, LFI's partners in the New Popular Front coalition - which includes the Socialists, Greens and Communists - might shy away from a vote that can pass only with the backing of their right-wing nemesis.

The bill, which is unlikely to be voted on before September, would not pass if with only the support of LFI and RN lawmakers.

France is in a state of parliamentary deadlock since Macron's decision to call the election, with the current government likely to carry out its functions throughout the summer in a caretaker capacity.

(Reporting by Nicolas Delame; Writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta;Editing by Tassilo Hummel, Angus MacSwan and Timothy Heritage)