Bad newsFrance Lifts Minimum Wage 1.6% but Unions Call It Too Little and Plan Strikes
A €24 monthly rise to €1,502 net from 1 December falls short of the €100 to €150 that France's two biggest unions asked for. The CGT has called a new day of strikes on 17 November.
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France will raise its minimum wage by 1.6% on 1 December, a month earlier than planned, and the unions that pushed for it say the amount is too small. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced the change on 9 November after meeting union leaders, according to France 24. The net monthly minimum rises by €24 to about €1,502, from the level set in June.
What the unions wanted
The CFDT, France’s largest union, called the rise insufficient and had asked for €100 more a month, France 24 reports. The CGT, led by Sophie Binet, asked for a 10% rise, about €150, and called the offer crumbs. Binet announced a new day of strikes and demonstrations for 17 November. Euronews adds that the CFTC president said the measures did not match the depth of social anger.
Lecornu defended the increase as the second-biggest in 20 years and said it should not be held in contempt, according to France 24. Euronews says the government is also offering tax breaks. These are an exemption on overtime income up to €10,000, tax relief on reimbursed public transport costs, and a tax and contributions break on value-sharing bonuses under certain conditions.
Who is affected
In 2024, 12.7% of French employees earned the minimum wage or close to it, against 8% in Germany and 3.5% in the Netherlands, France 24 reports, citing Eurostat. The minimum wage stood at 67% of average earnings that year. The increase will be set by decree, which Euronews says will be published shortly.
What is not known
Neither outlet gives the cost of the package to the state or to employers. Euronews says pay talks will continue across about a hundred professional branches, and that a reform to cut general social security contributions is planned to raise take-home pay, without a date. The strike on 17 November is the next test of whether the offer calms the protests.
