The French Exception: Why both reform and compromise are political minefields in the Fifth Republic

Sébastien “Lazarus” Lecornu miraculously shakes off the shortest term of a prime minister in modern French history, only to survive not one but two death-defying political feats: weathering consecutive votes of no-confidence. As the newly rejuvenated prime minister lives to see another day in France’s ongoing political telenovela, Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Dr. Joseph Downing, Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Politics at Aston University. Dr. Downing masterfully unpacks the seismic return of Lecornu as he rolls back Macron’s campaign centrepiece, his signature pension reform. For now, France’s retirement age and generous pension system, the envy of the world, remain untouchable: staving off an existential reckoning rooted in the country’s deep cultural contract between citizen and state. Yet Lecornu must still balance an impossible budget, walking a political tightrope high above, with no margin for error and no safety net below.