Overview

• In a letter to union leaders, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said measures to improve women’s pensions will be written into the 2026 Social Security financing bill.
• The government plans to draw from the failed pension conclave, which proposed counting the 24 best earning years for mothers with one child and 23 for mothers with two or more instead of the standard 25.
• The conclave also suggested allowing two credited quarters for childbearing to count toward the long-career scheme that enables earlier retirement, with each measure estimated to cost about €200 million in 2030.
• Lecornu said he wants to continue talks on occupational hardship and wear, as well as unemployment insurance, including rules for mutually agreed terminations.
• Key rifts persist, with the CFDT rejecting a restart of the conclave and employer group Medef remaining firm on keeping the legal retirement age at 64.