Pensions: Economy Minister Eric Lombard not in favor of mandatory capitalization

Economy Minister Eric Lombard said on Sunday that it was not "the right time" to introduce a "mandatory" capitalisation component into the pension system , as proposed by former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.

"Making it mandatory, I'm not sure it's the right time. We have more pressing priorities on the pension issue," Eric Lombard said in an interview on France Inter/France Info/Le Monde.

"The problem with capitalization is that in the current organization, it is unequal: it is those who have money, therefore those with higher incomes, who can invest it," he emphasized.

"And if we were to implement mandatory capitalization, who would finance it? We can clearly see that companies' margins are tight and there's no way to raise them. So this would require a broader reflection on the organization," he added, now favoring an "incentive to invest."

Declared candidate for the next presidential election, Edouard Philippe mentioned on Wednesday that 15% of capitalization should be introduced into the pension system because "our society is aging" while facing "a falling birth rate."

Furthermore, Eric Lombard reiterated the government's desire to control public spending in the context of the next budget for 2026, which will require around 40 billion euros of efforts compared to the evolution of spending if no measures are taken.

"We will not increase taxes overall," he said. "We are in the process of stabilizing overall spending, so that means we will not be implementing austerity measures across the board," he explained.

Regarding the possibility of a "blank year," or a budget freeze, the possible scope of its application would require "political decisions on a case-by-case basis," the minister said.

"We have to separate everything by sector," he explained. "If we have to have funds for defense, other ministries have to contribute. Similarly, in the social sector, there are probably benefits that we can stabilize," while others benefit "the poorest people, even if inflation is very low this year."

"We must begin reducing the number of civil servants," he also indicated, but "the numbers have not yet been determined."

In an interview with the Journal du Dimanche published on Saturday evening, the Minister of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, also stated that the government wanted to "review this trend" of increasing the number of civil servants in recent years.