"We have more pressing priorities": Economy Minister not in favor of mandatory capitalization in the pension system

The Minister of Economy estimated on Sunday, June 8, 2025, that it was not "the right time" to introduce a "mandatory" capitalization portion into the pension system, as proposed by former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.

"Making it a mandatory element, I'm not sure it's the right time. We have more pressing priorities on the issue of pensions," Eric Lombard said during 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 had to make capitalization mandatory, who would finance it? Companies, we can see that margins are tight and there is no way to raise them. So this would require a broader reflection on the organization," he added, favoring today 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."

2026 Budget: 40 billion euros of efforts

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 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 distinguish everything by sector," he explained.

"If we have to have funds for defense, other ministries must 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 to reduce the number of civil servants ," he also indicated, but "the numbers have not yet been fixed."

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