French politics: PM Bayrou vows to tackle 'excessive' debt, reopens pensions debate

France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Tuesday warned parliament about his country's spiralling debt and said he was ready to reopen talks on pension reform, hoping to avoid defeat in any no-confidence vote that could prolong the country's rumbling political crisis. Bayrou, who became France's fourth prime minister in a year when he took office a month ago, faces a huge challenge to get agreement on a long-overdue budget plan for 2025 and resolve bitter disputes over a 2023 pension reform. FRANCE...