Overview

• Matignon circulated a “lettre de cadrage” targeting €2–2.5 billion in annual savings on unemployment insurance from 2026–29 alongside a document proposing removal of two paid holidays to yield €4.2 billion in 2026
• The reform plan calls to lengthen the minimum work period and shorten benefit duration for jobless support while tightening indemnity rules after rupture conventionnelle to speed up return to work
• Proposed removal of férié status for Easter Monday and May 8 would add working days without extra pay for salaried and public‐sector staff and levy a solidarity-style contribution on private employers
• CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC and CFTC condemned the austerity measures as an attack on social gains, scheduled a joint meeting for September 1 and FO filed a strike notice from September 1 to November 30
• Reactions among employer groups vary, and the government has warned it will impose its own rules if no agreement is reached within the set timetables