Overview
- Senior ministers signaled support for a discretionary 'coup de pouce' that would push the net Smic above €1,500, comments first publicized after ministers spoke on Friday.
- The government is holding talks with unions this weekend and the Prime Minister will convene a social conference on Monday, November 9, to seek an agreed path forward.
- Major unions demand far larger rises than the symbolic €1,500 target, with the CFDT asking for €100 net, Force Ouvrière €123 net, and the CGT €150 net per month.
- Small employers warn that a big mandated increase would squeeze already thin margins and could threaten jobs, while the labour minister says he will not propose measures that would harm employment.
- The Smic can rise by three mechanisms—annual January revaluation, automatic in‑year indexation tied to low‑income inflation, or a discretionary 'coup de pouce'—and about 2.1 million private‑sector workers (11.8%) are directly affected; the last discretionary increase was in July 2012.