Overview

• The draft 2026 social security financing bill proposes to increase the sick-leave indemnity waiting period from three to up to seven days and introduce an additional unpaid “public-order” waiting day.
• Under the plan, Assurance-maladie would stop covering days four through seven of a sick leave, transferring those costs to employers and their insurers.
• The measures are intended to contribute to €43.8 billion in budget savings needed to rein in a record social security deficit.
• Cnam data show that sick-leave allowances rose nearly 56% from 2010 to 2023, reaching over €20 billion last year, while private-sector absenteeism hit a 5.8% peak in 2024.
• CFDT leader Marylise Léon labeled the proposals “profoundly unjust” and warned they could exacerbate long-term absences based on past experience in the public sector.