France Raises Minimum Wage 1.6% to €1,502 From December 1
The French government brought forward a 1.6% minimum wage increase from January to December 1 after weeks of cost-of-living protests. Unions called the package insufficient, and the CGT said it will join a general strike on November 17, five months before the presidential election.
France raised its monthly minimum wage by 1.6% to €1,502 on Monday, November 9, as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's government brought the increase forward to December 1 to calm weeks of cost-of-living protests.
The rise had been planned for the start of 2027. It lifts the minimum wage by 24 euros from the current €1,477.93.
Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou announced the change at a press conference. "We have decided two things: to bring forward the increase to 1 December as opposed to 1 January, and to raise this increase to 1.6 per cent," he said.
Lecornu told reporters the increase was "the second-largest rise in 20 years; it should not be underestimated." He said it was "not merely symbolic" and had been planned so it does not cost jobs. He also said it was "not enough" but would launch "a cycle of discussions on wage increases."
The last rise came in June, when inflation triggered a 35-euro increase.
Unions reject the package
Union leaders were unimpressed. Marylise Léon, head of the CFDT, France's largest union, called the measures "insufficient". The CFDT had demanded a 100-euro rise.
Sophie Binet, leader of the CGT, called the package "crumbs" and said, "We didn't come here to beg for alms." She argued the real new money is "five euros, because the rest corresponds to the rise already announced for the beginning of the year."
The CGT is demanding a 10% rise, around 150 euros a month. It said it will join a general strike on November 17, and other public-sector unions urged mobilization on the same day.
Other measures and the protests
The government said it would extend a tax-free fuel allowance of up to 1,000 euros. It also plans to raise the tax-free cap on overtime pay to 10,000 euros next year.
Sectors whose collective bargaining agreements set pay below the new statutory minimum have been asked to start negotiations next week to bring wages into line.
The protests began in French high schools in September, driven by calls for more investment in underfunded schools. They grew into a nationwide movement over wages and public services. On November 5, the Interior Ministry counted 575,000 demonstrators, while the CGT put the figure at nearly 1.6 million.
Lecornu said he does not question the right to protest but does "question violent acts," adding that "Our cities' centers need to regain calm."
The unrest comes five months before France's presidential election. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen is the frontrunner in the polls. Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who has been accused of encouraging the unrest, presented his programme to about 17,000 supporters on Saturday.
