LIVE - Social anger: the government announces an increase in the minimum wage of 1.6%, which will rise to 1,502 euros per month from December

The Court of Auditors proposed in a report on Monday a set of 18 measures that could be applied from next year to restore public finances, representing “up to 38 billion euros in savings”, of which “11 to 14 billion euros” already appear in the 2027 budget. Among the proposed measures include in particular a “non-revaluation of social benefits (excluding social minima)”, with a saving estimated by the Court of Auditors at 4.8 billion in 2027.

It also proposes the “suspension for one year of advancements and promotions in the public service” (for 3.9 billion euros), an “increase to 13% of the intermediate VAT rate from 10%” (for 4.3 billion) or “better control of reductions in social security contributions” (3.5 billion). “We are at a special moment. Today budgetary discussions resume in the Senate”, while “the deterioration of growth prospects reopens the debate on the content of the measures to be proposed in the budget for 2027”, underlined the first president of the Court of Auditors, Amélie de Montchalin, during a press conference.

“We, financial magistrates of the Court of Auditors, consider that we cannot simply reiterate the warnings” and “that we can, even that we must, contribute to enlightening parliamentarians on the solutions”, with “a range of possible, precise and quantified measures, to reduce the deficit”, she added.

The increase in the minimum wage which could be announced at the end of the social conference underway Monday morning in Matignon would be between “1.5% and 2%”, according to the president of the CFTC Cyril Chabanier. This increase, which could take place in advance from December 1, would include the indexation of the minimum wage on prices which otherwise would take place automatically on January 1, but also the first “boost” to improve its purchasing power since July 2012.

On Friday, Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou deemed it “important” to try to “cross the bar” of 1,500 euros net for the monthly minimum wage, currently 1,477.93 euros. “We are still negotiating the amount of the boost, between 1.5% and 2%,” declared the trade unionist before the start of this conference which brings together business and union leaders at the initiative of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who convened it after the day of mobilization on Thursday November 5, which brought together between 575,000 and 1.5 million people.

Cyril Chabanier also mentioned “a change in policy on exemptions granted to companies, where there would perhaps be for the first time, let’s say, a small conditionality that could be put in place”.

The general secretary of the CGT Sophie Binet and the president of the CFTC Cyril Chabanier spoke of a series of measures which are “not up to the anger” this Monday, November 9 ahead of a social conference organized by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu with the unions and employers in Matignon.

“We need adequate answers, we are not here for a Yellow Coins operation, we are not here to beg, we demand respect for our rights,” declared Sophie Binet.

The principal of a vocational high school was injured in the head by a jet of projectiles in front of his establishment Monday morning near Bordeaux, we learned from reliable sources. Around 7:30 a.m., around fifteen hooded young people set fire to trash cans in front of two gates giving access to the parking lot of the Émile-Combes vocational high school in Bègles, in Gironde, a witness told AFP.

They fired projectiles, hitting the principal in the head, said this witness and a source close to the investigation. According to the latter, he was hospitalized but his condition did not cause major concern. An hour after the events, there were still a few burnt trash cans in front of the gates of the high school which was closed, noted an AFP journalist.

Catch-up courses could be organized during school holidays “in February” or “at Easter”, indicated Monday on France 2 the Minister of National Education Édouard Geffray, who also recalled the “illegal” nature of the blockages in front of high schools. “There can be catch-up classes” as is already done “traditionally, but perhaps in a more limited way, here we will extend it, particularly over short holidays, for example in February, at Easter” to compensate for the class hours lost due to the high school movement, explained the minister.

“There may be weeks called success courses, during which volunteer teachers financed for this come to do complementary or additional catch-up or training lessons for the students,” he detailed. He confirmed that the dates of the baccalaureate would be maintained because "we cannot demonstrate to cultivate the national character of the baccalaureate, otherwise I believe, and then say 'what if we started to unravel things'", according to the minister. Édouard Geffray once again recalled the “illegality” of blockades of establishments in the name of the “right to education”.

Michel Picon, president of U2P (union of local businesses and businesses), estimated Monday, before the social conference in Matignon with employers and unions, that an increase in the minimum wage to 1,500 euros is possible if it is accompanied by a reduction in employer charges. “We are waiting for the government to give us a helping hand by reducing the tax and social security bill on businesses so that we have the capacity to pay a little better not only employees on the minimum wage, but also those who are above the minimum wage,” he declared on TF1.

The net monthly minimum wage today is 1,477.93 euros. It has already been raised twice this year, by 1.18% in January then by 2.4% in June, to take into account inflation linked to the war in the Middle East. The Minister of Labor, Jean-Pierre Farandou has already mentioned his wish to see it pass the 1,500 euro mark, without specifying the desirable level in his eyes, but specifying to the Tribune on Sunday that he did not want to propose an increase which could “harm employment”.

At Turgot high school (IIIe), a blocking attempt took place this morning. But it was thwarted by the presence of around thirty police officers at dawn. “The police were there earlier than us so it was impossible,” a high school man with his hands in his pockets told us a few meters from the entrance. His friend adds: “The problem is that there are fewer and fewer high schools mobilized, so there are more police officers in establishments where there are blockades.”

According to the two young men, this is the first time since “the beginning of October” that they will have a “normal” day of classes. “We had two or three hours of lessons here and there but today the timetable will really be respected,” explains one of them, not without a touch of bitterness. Always present on site, the police ensure the entry of students into the establishment.

By our special correspondent, Romain Mercier

Faced with social anger, the unions are demanding an increase in the minimum wage, up to 100 euros for the CDFT and 150 euros for the CGT. For Reconquest MEP Sarah Knafo, the solution lies in the generalized social contribution (CSG). She pleads for its removal, and promises “an increase in wages of more than 10%”. “It’s ten times more than what the CGT and LFI are proposing,” assures the author of the book The Breaking of the Century (Fayard), going so far as to say that “the unions are not ambitious enough.”

The former candidate for municipal elections in Paris is calling for the elimination of 800 civil servant positions and is also proposing a return to a government of 10 ministers. She also puts on the table the abolition of the Ministry of Sports. “We will keep our excellence,” she certifies, taking an example from the United States.

The CGT is not satisfied with an increase of 23 euros net in the minimum wage. “The mandatory revaluation on January 1 would have been around 18 euros. So it’s only five euros more,” she explains. His organization, for its part, is asking for an increase of 150 euros net. She also says she expects a broader response to the expectations of workers and high school students. If she assures that “negotiation is possible”, she warns that “as long as the demands are not met, we will continue to mobilize”.

The trade unionist was also questioned about possible support for Jean-Luc Mélenchon, but preferred to kick in. Certainly the France Insoumis program, unveiled a few days ago, contains “demands from the CGT”, she admitted. Before adding that “it was logical for a left-wing party to take up the demands of workers”. This is therefore the case for LFI, but not the only one. “I see others,” interrupted Sophie Binet, without mentioning them.

What irony! Emmanuel Macron, who had observed with certain commiseration the passion of his predecessor, François Hollande, for high social masses, is reduced to bringing out, at the end of his chaotic mandate, this worn card.

Matignon thus announced, Thursday, at the end of a day of demonstrations and strikes around the cost of living, that Sébastien Lecornu would convene a “social conference” on Thursday with union and employer organizations. This conference will aim to “provide answers to questions of purchasing power and wages”, specifies the press release. Serious questions, indeed, if we rely on the level of tension and conflict running through the country!

Guest of TF1 this Monday morning, the president of the Union of Local Businesses (U2P) assures that a minimum wage of 1,500 euros “will pass, provided that the government supports”, particularly on levies, and “that it loosens the freeze on reductions”. “In total, the government system takes between 11 and 14 billion euros from businesses, this is not possible in the period we are going through,” points out Michel Picon.

For the representative, “if we were to pass on an increase as we have been doing since the start of the year, it would be the death of thousands of businesses”. If he agrees that French salaries are too low, he recalls “exogenous facts in the country with the war in Iran, which is neither the fault of companies nor of the government”. Michel Picon also calls for “the demonstrations to stop” in order to revive consumption in businesses. Finally, the president of the U2P “finds Marine Le Pen very silent today, all this makes her electoral campaign”.

“People deprive themselves of everything today.” Guest of RTL, the head of the rebellious deputies, Mathilde Panot, castigated the government's idea of ​​increasing the minimum wage to 1,500 euros net per month.

“We have to understand the scam that is happening,” she continued. “In the law, it says that the minimum wage must be indexed to price increases […]. By law, on January 1, 2027, the minimum wage will be 1,493 euros. So what the government is proposing is an increase of 7 euros net,” she denounces. Or “less than the price of a pack of diapers”.

An “unbearable” and “indecent” proposal for Mathilde Panot who wants a minimum wage of 1,700 euros net per month.

The Minister of Education Édouard Geffray does not want to modify the baccalaureate schedule to take into account the hours lost by high school students due to the current movement, he indicates in an interview published Saturday by Le Parisien. “I will be very clear: I do not intend to touch the exams. We cannot say, on the one hand, that we want a national diploma, and on the other, that we can adapt it according to each person’s situation,” he declared during an exchange with high school students, parents and teachers organized by the newspaper.

“However, in establishments where students have been prevented from going to class, we are looking to allocate additional resources, in particular catch-up classes,” he adds. According to the minister, two thirds of high schools experienced no disruption, or only experienced “very slight disruptions over one to two days”. To catch up, “we need to look in detail, adapt continuous monitoring, perhaps smooth over a semester rather than a quarter,” he explains.

The atmosphere promises to be electric around the negotiating table. As every year, companies where one or more union sections are formed (generally those which employ more than fifty employees), must initiate talks on remuneration, professional equality, and working conditions, known as compulsory annual negotiations (NAO). From October, and until February, the unions will therefore increase the number of meetings with representatives of their management to try to influence salaries. These are being held this year in a particularly tense social climate.

After years of inflation, propelled by the war in Ukraine and then in the Middle East, France is going through a purchasing power crisis. According to INSEE, this fell by 0.7% in 2025. This is only the third time that it has fallen for two consecutive years since the Institute began recording this data in 1960. The mobilizations follow one another, with, among other demands, the fight against the high cost of living. And faced with a presumably powerless executive, the responsibility falls on companies.

Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou deemed it “important” Friday on TF1 to try to “cross the bar” of 1,500 euros net for the monthly minimum wage, currently 1,477.93 euros, three days before a social conference called by the Prime Minister in Matignon. Jean-Pierre Farandou clarified that his discussions with unions and employers were still ongoing until Sunday and that his objective was to “converge” to reach a compromise on the minimum wage.