French Public Sector Unions Unite Ahead Of November 17 Strike After Failed Talks With Lecornu

France's public sector unions are strengthening their position ahead of a nationwide strike scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, following an unsuccessful meeting with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

The talks, held on Friday, November 13, focused on low wages and the declining purchasing power of public sector employees. However, union representatives left Matignon dissatisfied, describing the discussions as a "pointless meeting".

The CFDT, which had initially preferred to continue negotiations with the government, has now joined the strike movement. Its decision adds further weight to the industrial action as unions push for meaningful salary improvements for public employees across France.

France Public Sector Strike Gains Momentum As CFDT Joins Unions

Representatives of France's 5.8 million public sector employees were invited to Matignon for the first time in almost 20 years, with expectations that the government would announce measures to improve their salaries.

The meeting came shortly after a minimum wage increase was announced for private sector workers, highlighting the growing gap affecting public employees.

From December 1, the minimum wage adjustment will leave the basic salaries of approximately 1.2 million public sector workers below the new minimum wage level. Although the government announced measures targeting lower-paid employees on Friday, around 600,000 civil servants will still have basic salaries beneath that threshold.

CGT general secretary Sophie Binet highlighted the situation in a joint statement delivered by union representatives as they left Matignon.

A group of unions, excluding the CFDT and Force Ouvrière (FO), had already announced plans for the November 17 strike. However, the failure to secure satisfactory commitments from Lecornu prompted the CFDT to join the mobilisation.

"The CFDT, which had chosen to pursue negotiations to the very end, is calling on everyone to join the mobilization on November 17th in order to obtain real answers by mid-December," said Laure Revel, general secretary of CFDT Public Sector.

The union also criticised the government's position on public sector pay, arguing that it had failed to provide the necessary financial resources.

"The government still refuses to release budgetary resources commensurate with the needs to address the continued loss of purchasing power of public sector employees," the CFDT stated.

It also described the proposals presented during the meeting as measures that "do not constitute real progress."

Minimum Wage Increase Leaves Hundreds Of Thousands Of Civil Servants Behind

One of the major concerns raised by the unions involves the basic salaries of hundreds of thousands of public employees who will remain below the minimum wage following the December adjustment.

These workers will receive a differential allowance to make up the gap, since French civil servants cannot legally be paid less than the minimum wage.

However, unions argue that this arrangement does little to improve employees' underlying salary positions.

Public sector salaries are calculated using an index-based pay scale. When the minimum wage rises, it can catch up with the lowest salary levels, creating a situation known as "settlement".

As a result, employees who previously earned slightly more than the minimum wage can find their salaries aligned with the newly increased minimum, reducing the difference between pay grades.

Force Ouvrière had already confirmed its participation in the November 17 industrial action earlier in the week.

Its representative, Christian Grolier, told AFP that employees "remain on minimum wage and are losing out for the future because they are not contributing to social security based on a salary that corresponds to the minimum wage."

French Unions Demand General Pay Rises And Inflation Protection

The FSU has also criticised the government's approach, arguing that the planned adjustments will provide only limited financial relief.

Caroline Chevé, the union's general secretary, said that of the 1.1 million employees whose salaries are being adjusted to the minimum wage, "only half will barely be raised to the level of the minimum wage".

She explained that the increase would amount to just eight index points.

"That means not even 30 euros. We are not at all addressing the issue of purchasing power," Chevé denounced.

Rather than relying on adjustments to the lowest salary levels, public sector unions are demanding broader increases covering employees across the workforce.

Their demands include an increase in the value of the index point, which determines the basic salaries of civil servants, alongside an adjustment mechanism that would link it to inflation.

The government, however, has repeatedly rejected this proposal.

It ruled out increasing the index point in July, arguing that a 1% rise would cost approximately €2.4 billion. Lecornu maintained that position during Friday's discussions.

Lecornu Announces Further Pay Discussions With Unions In December

Despite the disagreement over immediate salary increases, the Prime Minister announced a new round of discussions covering five major areas of public sector employment.

In a statement published on X, Lecornu confirmed that the government would begin a month-long consultation process.

One of the key subjects will be reforming the salary scales that determine how civil servants progress throughout their careers.

The government is expected to meet union representatives again on December 11, following the public service professional elections.

Lecornu said the objective was to "finalize progress by mid-December".

However, the latest meeting has failed to resolve the immediate disagreement over wages, with the CFDT now joining other unions in calling for nationwide mobilisation on November 17.

For France's public sector employees, the central demand remains clear: meaningful salary increases that address declining purchasing power rather than temporary adjustments to minimum pay levels.