President Emmanuel Macron’s government isn’t abandoning its controversial plan to reform the French pension system, hammering home the argument that it’s key to attracting foreign investors.

“We’ll keep working on the pension reform,” France’s Delegate Minister for Foreign Trade Franck Riester told Bloomberg News. “It shows we are committed to keep improving the business environment in France.”

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Macron came to power in 2017 with a pledge to boost growth and employment by cutting bureaucracy and encouraging foreign investment. But the pandemic derailed his plans and forced him to halt some of his reforms — including the one that triggered the strongest opposition on the streets, the overhaul of the pension system.

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Opponents criticized the reform for being too vague and unfair, with some people losing benefits. Riester says foreign investors are keen for France to overhaul its social safety net, because the prospect of sounder public finances would improve the long-term outlook of the country.

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On the campaign trail on Thursday, ahead of upcoming regional elections, Macron fueled long-running speculation about whether he would try to revive the plans, saying that “difficult” decisions were needed in the remaining year of his mandate. The president added that the overhaul, as he first envisioned it, was off the table.

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