Latest news with #FrançoisBayrou
Local France
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Local France
Pensions conclave: What changes for retirement in France?
On Thursday, after four months of discussions between the government, employers and moderate unions broke up, France's Prime Minister François Bayrou extended – again – the deadline to mid-July to allow agreement on sticking points. There has been no big breakthrough on the issue that has convulsed French politics since 2019, but a few small but important details have been agreed. 'Contrary to what has been said and written, the work of this conclave has been remarkably useful,' Bayrou told journalists. Advertisement 'Having taken stock of the steps forward and having spoken with each of the organisations, I am impressed by the progress that has been made in four months.' Government spokesperson Sophie Primas told BFM TV: 'No agreement is signed, but we are moving forward … The Prime Minister is right not to give up, to continue to believe in social dialogue.' So, what was agreed? Retirement age As a reminder, this Conclave is about pensions, specifically Emmanuel Macron's highly controversial pension reform that - among other things - raised the French pension age from 62 to 64. On the age issue, nothing changes. Perhaps the key point was that those around the table – some unions, for example, refused to participate – 'accepted the principle of returning to balance in 2030' and 'not to question the age conditions set by the 2023 law', Bayrou said. That means the retirement age will go up, as planned, to 64. The change is already being phased in for people who retire over the next few years. So what was agreed? There were, however, important breakthroughs on other issues including pensions for mothers, for those who have taken career breaks and for foreigners working in France. Conclave has agreed to 'improve the situation of people, especially those who have had interrupted careers, more often women'. Progress was made to 'significantly and immediately improve' the pension rights of women who have had children. 'Instead of using the 25 best years to calculate retirement pensions, women who have had one child will gain one year, with the reference figure reduced to 24 years,' Bayrou said. Advertisement 'Those who have had two or more children, they will gain two years, with the reference reduced to 23 years. In addition, an agreement was reached on 'early retirement for long careers, thereby gaining two quarters of maternity leave'. There was also a deal reached on people who have taken career breaks or who have not worked a full career in France. Bayrou announced a compromise had been reached to reduce the retirement age at full pay from 67 to 66-and-a-half. This potentially affects foreigners who have 'blended careers' - ie they have worked some years in France and some years in another country, and plan to retire in France. Because French pensions are based on contributions, those who have not worked a full career in France will get a lower pension (although they likely likely also be entitled to a pension from other countries they have worked in) - however the 'full pension age' means that people with an incomplete French career can either retire at 64 on a lower rate, or can continue working until they are 67 (now 66 1/2) and benefit from a higher amount. Advertisement If you check out your French pension via the info-retrait site, you will see your estimated monthly pension amount based on whether you retire at 64, or at 67. For those who only worked for part of their career in France, the figure for retiring at 67 is significantly higher. READ ALSO : EXPLAINED: The website to help you calculate your French pension✎ 'Arduous' jobs Unions want employees in arduous or dangerous jobs for a long time to be able to retire early, regardless of their health, but employers want to make early retirement conditional on the establishment of incapacity by a doctor. Bayrou insisted compromise was 'within reach', and said negotiations would continue in the coming days. What next? Talks will continue but in the immediate future are two no-confidence votes on the prime minister over this issue, deposed by Parti Socialiste. It's not thought that these will succeed. READ ALSO OPINION: Another week, another attempt to bring down the French government The head of government also announced 'a legislative approach' in the autumn to 'answer all the questions raised' and, in the absence of agreement on the most delicate points, said he was ready to include 'compromise provisions' in the next Social Security budget. France's largest union, the CFDT, however, has refused to enter the ongoing talks. 'We do not want any new negotiation sessions,' Secretary General Marylise Léon told AFP. Advertisement She said that the two final sticking points identified by François Bayrou in reaching an agreement with employers, on arduous work and the overall financing of the system, were 'two extremely important and structuring elements of the discussions.' Bayrou – in Briançon – fired back, saying that if unions and employers step down from negotiations, 'we will decide'. He said the next Social Security budget would include 'a text, whether there has been a prior agreement or whether there has only been preparatory work for an agreement'.
LeMonde
20 hours ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Social democracy: PM Bayrou's proclamations are not enough
Three days after the breakdown of talks on the future of the pensions system, French Prime Minister François Bayrou tried to revive the process during an unusual press conference on Thursday, June 26, during which he did not hesitate to rewrite history in his own way. According to him, the four-month negotiations between labor unions and employers' organizations, an effort to overcome the democratic trauma caused by the raising of the retirement age without a vote in Parliament, were "remarkably useful." Thanks to the goodwill of employers' organizations and the three unions that agreed to sit through the talks, improvements are on the horizon for mothers' pensions, as well as for retirees who have not contributed long enough to receive a full pension. The prime minister downplayed the significance of the deadlocks that emerged over arduous working conditions and how to fund all proposed adjustments. He said he was ready to grant an additional two weeks of discussions to the labor unions and employers' organizations. But he did not rule out the possibility of putting forward "compromise solutions" himself that could be translated into legislation as part of the social security budget to be debated this fall. If the goal of this initiative was to reshuffle the deck, its failure is clear. The Socialists, which the centrist Bayrou has been trying to win over since his appointment, submitted a motion of no confidence on Tuesday, on the grounds that the initial promise to review the issue of the retirement age of 64 had been broken. With just two weeks to go before the announcement of tough budgetary choices, this attempt at outreach to the left ended in failure. As for the participants in what Bayrou called a "conclave," they remain highly circumspect: While not shutting the door on further talks, all are holding back on responding. Bayrou has always championed social democracy. It is his only card in this matter. Everythign else is playing against him: his record unpopularity, fueled by a tendency to procrastinate rather than decide; his inability to assert any real authority over the centrist bloc, which shares no common vision regarding the future of the 2023 pension reform; and his complex relationship with the president, who supports him but is also frustrated by the risk of an impasse. The combination of these weaknesses means that, instead of generating momentum around what he believes in – shared responsibility and easing labor tensions – the prime minister appears increasingly desperate, resorting to cunning manneuvers in order to survive politically. The return of the labor unions and employers' organizations to the negotiating table is all the more necessary as the loss of a majority in the Assemblée Nationale led to deadlock and a simmering crisis. Bayrou said he was willing to entrust the governance of the public pension fund to the employer representatives and the unions. This would be an effective way to defuse and depoliticize the management of a hot-button issue that, given demographic trends, is far from settled. But trust cannot be mandated. Having been sidelined for eight years, the unions have every reason to be wary. Protected by pro-business policies, the employers' representatives struggle to understand that they, too, need to do their part. They reject any increase in contributions but are in no hurry to facilitate employment for older workers. The obstacles are not solely political in nature.
LeMonde
21 hours ago
- Business
- LeMonde
French debt surges to new record, but IMF intervention ruled out
French debt is rising, and rising very quickly. Despite the government's efforts, the freezing of certain funds and promises of massive savings, France's public debt increased by another €40.5 billion in just three months, reaching €3.346 trillion at the end of March, according to figures released on Thursday, June 26, by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE,). In one year, the debt, described by Prime Minister François Bayrou as the country's public enemy number one, grew by €185 billion, or 6%. Could this massive debt burden soon force France under the supervision of Brussels, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)? Could this troika impose an austerity plan on France, as happened to Greece in the 2010s when it was revealed the country had falsified its accounts and its budget deficit was three times higher than the official figure? For several weeks, the government has been wielding this dramatic threat as Bayrou prepares to unveil highly anticipated fiscal recovery measures, expected after July 14. "If we do not make these choices now, our creditors or the IMF will impose them on us," warned Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin in Le Journal du Dimanche on June 7. "This is the last moment to be courageous." De Montchalin hammered home the message again on radio station RTL on June 10: "There is a risk of being placed under the supervision of international institutions, European institutions or our creditors."
LeMonde
a day ago
- Health
- LeMonde
Medical deserts: France takes new step in 'solidarity mission' to increase doctors in 151 red zones
A new step has been taken in the implementation of the "mandatory solidarity mission" for doctors, the key measure of the "pact" announced by French Prime Minister François Bayrou on April 25 to combat the issue of medical deserts – areas with insufficient healthcare services. On Friday, June 27, the Ministry of Health unveiled a map of the areas that will benefit from the support of general practitioners for up to two days per month starting in September. These doctors will come from better-equipped areas to lend a hand to those in need. This is a sensitive issue and is sure to be closely scrutinized, at a time when access to healthcare is deteriorating in many areas. In departments such as Creuse, Yonne, Indre, Cher, Gers, Tarn and Aude, 151 intercommunalities were selected using a composite indicator that takes into account both needs and existing resources to calculate a "cumulative fragility" score. Factors considered include medical density (measured by an indicator called "localized potential accessibility," weighted by professionals' activity levels and the population's age), the proportion of residents with long-term illnesses, the travel time to the nearest emergency department and household income levels.
Nahar Net
a day ago
- Climate
- Nahar Net
Storms in France cause flooding, 2 deaths and leak in parliament
by Naharnet Newsdesk 27 June 2025, 12:20 Torrential storms in France caused two deaths, flooded Paris streets and created a leak in parliament's roof that interrupted a prime minister's speech. "Have you noticed that it was raining?" Prime Minister François Bayrou pointed out, looking up at the National Assembly's leaking domed ceiling after delivering a speech on the Middle East as a deluge fell outside, quickly inundating Paris boulevards on Wednesday evening. The assembly vice president, Roland Lescure, suspended the debate so fire officers could check out the problem. When he restarted the session about 15 minutes later, Lescure told lawmakers that absorbent mats were used to patch up the leak. Seventeen people were injured, one critically. The French civil defense agency said the storm, which broadly swept France after a heat wave, also cut power to 110,000 homes. A falling tree killed a 12-year-old child in southwest France and a man died when his quad-bike hit a toppled tree in the northwest, French media reported.
