Overview

• On July 21, CFDT general secretary Marylise Léon denounced the government’s unemployment insurance overhaul as “a total carnage” for job seekers, projecting savings of €2–2.5 billion initially and up to €4 billion annually.
• Léon issued her warning after a direct exchange with Labour Minister Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet about social negotiations tied to the government’s budgetary consolidation effort.
• Federations CGT, FO and CFE-CGC declined to meet this week over the proposed changes, deferring talks until after the summer recess, while the CFTC agreed to enter discussions.
• Paris has also invited unions and employers to negotiate labour law revisions, including monetizing a fifth week of paid leave and cutting two public holidays—measures unions say must be coupled with genuine social progress.
• The CFDT says all courses of action remain open as unions prepare to coordinate a unified response at their September 1 inter-union forum.