October 2026
15Oct

France. Amundi, BNP Paribas AM Secure $1.86 Billion in Climate-Focused Pension Mandates

French pension scheme Ircantec has selected Amundi and BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) to oversee approximately $1.86 billion in decarbonization-focused equity index mandates. The seven-year agreements will direct institutional capital into European and global equities under strict climate and responsible investment requirements. The appointments form part of Ircantec’s strategy to align its investment reserves with a 1.5°C global warming pathway. The decision places climate performance, shareholder engagement and portfolio construction at the centre of the pension fund’s investment approach. Amundi and...

October 15, 2026
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09Oct

Wealthy French quit failing state schools squeezed by pensions and austerity

Clemence Remy moved to the French city of Nantes in 2020 and enrolled her two girls in the local state school. The teachers were good, but she grew so exasperated ​by rolling staff strikes that she eventually put them in a private school. Those concerns about state schools have helped fuel some of France's most violent protests in decades. They began last ‌month at high schools in Paris' poor northern suburbs, where anger over teacher absences and shabby facilities quickly...

October 9, 2026
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September 2026
30Sep

French presidential candidate Philippe pitches later retirement, mandatory savings

French centre-right presidential candidate Edouard Philippe proposed on Tuesday raising the retirement age to 65 and making private pension savings compulsory, tackling one of France’s most ​politically explosive issues. Pension reform is highly sensitive in France, where ‌workers rely on a public, pay-as-you-go system funded by current contributions, and private retirement savings remain voluntary and limited. With one of the lowest retirement ages in advanced countries at 62.9 years, France’s pension system is sliding into deficit as ‌the ​population ages, making...

September 30, 2026
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August 2026
27Aug

France. Pensions: François Hollande proposes a 63-year age, partial de-indexing, and a degree of capitalization

François Hollande unveils several measures to fundamentally reform the French pension system. The former president proposes a legal retirement age of 63 in 2028, a gradual increase in the contribution period, and a five-year cap on pension increases. In his manifesto , *Uniting: A New World, A New Left *, to be published on September 3, François Hollande argues that the pension reform issue will inevitably resurface after the 2027 presidential election. His first proposal is to set the legal...

August 27, 2026
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June 2026
12Jun

France faces deeper pension deficit as population ages

France is on track to run a larger-than-expected pension deficit from 2045 as falling birth rates and an ageing population put increasing pressure on the country's retirement system, according to the body that monitors its sustainability. The French Pensions Advisory Council said a recent downward revision to the fertility rate had worsened the outlook, with the gap between contributions and pension payments now expected to reach 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2070. Falling birth rate worsens outlook The updated forecast was based...

June 12, 2026
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December 2025
19Dec

European Financial Ecosystems. Comparing France, Sweden, UK and Italy.

By Stefano Caselli & Marta Zava The study examines the structure, functioning, and strategic implications of financial ecosystems across four European countries-France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Italy-to identify institutional best practices relevant to the ongoing transformation of Italy's financial system. Building on a comparative analysis of legislation and regulation, taxation, investor bases, and financial intermediation, the report highlights how distinct historical and institutional trajectories have shaped divergent models: the French dirigiste system anchored by powerful state-backed institutions and deep...

December 19, 2025
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17Dec

French MPs adopt social security budget, suspend pension reform

French lawmakers on Tuesday, December 16, adopted a social security budget, which includes the suspension of an unpopular pension reform, as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu races to finalize a 2026 spending plan by year-end. The Assemblée Nationale approved the measure by 247 votes to 232, the first of two budget bills needed to pass before the December 31 deadline. The version of the bill lawmakers approved includes the suspension of a 2023 reform to raise the retirement age from 62...

December 17, 2025
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03Dec

‘Generation war’ dogs pension debates in France and Germany

A generational reckoning is brewing in Paris and Berlin, where a new wave of younger politicians is putting pensioners on notice: The system is buckling and can’t hold unless retirees do more to help fix it. Culture, language and local politics may add a distinct flavor to each debate, but the European Union’s two biggest economies are dealing with the same issue — how to pay for the soaring costs associated with the retirement of baby boomers. The problem is both...

December 3, 2025
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October 2025
17Oct

French PM survives no-confidence votes after making pension concession

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in parliament on Thursday, winning crucial backing from the Socialist Party thanks to his pledge to suspend President Emmanuel Macron’s contested pension reform. The two motions presented by the hard-left France Unbowed and the far-right National Rally (RN) secured just 271 and 144 votes respectively — well short of the 289 votes needed to bring down Lecornu’s days-old government. Lecornu’s offer to mothball the pension reform until after the 2027 presidential election...

October 17, 2025
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15Oct

French PM backs freezing Macron’s pension reform to save government

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has told parliament he backs suspending controversial 2023 pension reforms, in the face of crucial votes of no-confidence later this week. The changes, which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64, were seen as signature reforms in Emmanuel Macron's presidency. "This autumn I will propose to parliament that we suspend the 2023 pension reform until the [2027] presidential election," Lecornu said to applause from left-wing parties. Lecornu was reappointed prime minister last week only four days...

October 15, 2025
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