Smic, Parcoursup… Lecornu at the front to try to calm social anger

Less than six months before the presidential election, demonstrations continue to continue in France. Social anger is strong, particularly in the face of rising fuel prices in the wake of the war between the United States and Iran, and high school students are maintaining pressure on the government.

Sébastien Lecornu is therefore on the move this Monday to try to calm the situation. The Prime Minister will bring together the social partners this morning in Matignon for a social conference. He will then discuss, in the afternoon, with representatives of high school students and students, before a first committee to reform the Parcoursup system.

Lecornu promises “concrete answers”

But without financial margin, the mission of the head of government promises to be complicated. And if he can give a boost to the minimum wage, which is his responsibility, he does not have the power to increase other salaries and therefore leaves it to the social partners.

In a letter Friday to unions and employers, Sébastien Lecornu said he heard “the expectations” on purchasing power as much as the “concerns” of bosses about employment. He promises “concrete answers” ​​which he will present to the press after the social conference.

The civil service unions, however, were not invited and will be received separately by Sébastien Lecornu on Friday. “By segmenting his responses to the social movement” between employees and high school students or between the private and public sectors, the Prime Minister “deprives himself of a breath of fresh air” and “takes the risk that the social movement takes hold over time,” warned the national secretary of Unsa, Laurent Escure. The president of the Union of Local Businesses (U2P), Michel Picon, for his part, indicated that his members would not accept "no increase in the minimum wage if the 'tax grip' on businesses does not loosen."

Towards a move on the energy check?

The government is considering several options: an anticipation of the automatic increase in the minimum wage on December 1, instead of January 1, and a gesture on the energy check intended for low-income households. But the scale of the minimum wage measure will undoubtedly not meet the demands of the unions: the CFDT is demanding an increase of 100 euros net, and the CGT around 150. If he wants the net minimum wage to pass the 1,500 euros mark (compared to 1,478 today), the Minister of Labor Jean-Pierre Farandou will not in fact propose an increase that could "harm employment".

“A joke,” LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard grumbled on Sunday, because if the minimum wage automatically increases in January with inflation to 1,495 euros net, the boost would only work for five euros, “not even enough to buy a sandwich” according to him.

Follow information on Social Movements

Discontent therefore risks continuing to be expressed in the streets. Without waiting for the outcome of the social conference, an inter-union group bringing together high school, student and teacher organizations called for a new day of demonstrations on Tuesday.