Barnier renews dialogue with social partners

The first to be received, the number one of the CFDT Marylise Léon reported on leaving Matignon a "constructive meeting".

"We had a very attentive Prime Minister and Minister of Labour," she stressed, assuring that Michel Barnier "explained that there would be a proposal for a method and a certain number of responses in his general policy speech" next Tuesday.

Received after him, the head of Medef Patrick Martin also reported "a lot of listening", praising "the respectful spirit of the meeting".

As soon as he took office at the beginning of September, Mr Barnier promised "breaks" and affirmed that it was necessary to "respect and take into account the social partners", a way of also relying on civil society while his fragile coalition is threatened with censorship by the left and the extreme right.

Her new Minister of Labor, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, went even further on Monday with this change of method, indicating that she intended to work to "restore" ties that "have sometimes weakened in recent years."

On the substance, the CFDT handed over "in person" to Mr. Barnier a document of around forty pages containing its demands "to meet the expectations of workers."

Ms. Léon had outlined the main points a little earlier to journalists, citing purchasing power as "topic number one" and regretting that "nothing has been achieved" after the social conference in October 2023.

She also mentioned work, ecological transition, budgetary issues, taxation, public service and unemployment insurance.

On this last subject, time is pressing. The reform tightening the conditions of access and the rules of compensation was suspended on the evening of the first round of the legislative elections and the rules in force expire on October 31.

Like other union leaders, Ms. Léon is calling for "resuming the 2023 agreement" concluded between the social partners that had not been validated by the government. She called for it to be supplemented by "a flash negotiation" to arrive at "a commitment to seniors."

As for pensions, another pending issue, she questioned the Prime Minister's commitment to "improve" the controversial reform: "If there is to be a reopening of discussions, the question of 64 years must at least be lifted, suspended," hammered Marylise Léon.

"Last Extremity"

The head of Medef, Patrick Martin, received in the afternoon, reported on leaving a "shared awareness of the seriousness of the situation in the country".

After saying on Monday that he was "ready to discuss" a rise in corporate taxes, but under conditions, he said he had reaffirmed to the Prime Minister that "as a last resort, in an extremely targeted, temporary and exceptional manner" the question of taxation and social "charges" "could be considered".

His counterpart from the CPME (Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises) François Asselin announced that he would be received on Thursday at 15:45 p.m., his organization stressing in a press release that "tax increases would not solve the problem of the public deficit". Still on the employers' side, the president of the Union of Local Enterprises (U2P) Michel Picon will be at Matignon the same day at 18:00 p.m.

The number one of the CGT, Sophie Binet, who will be received on Wednesday at 09:00 a.m., intends, according to her entourage, to discuss in particular the reform of unemployment insurance, hoping that Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet will "bury it definitively".

A few days before the October 1st mobilization, the union leader will also reiterate her wish to repeal the pension reform, the same source said.

The president of the CFE-CGC, François Hommeril, will be received on Wednesday at 12:00 p.m., and his counterpart from the CFTC, Cyril Chabanier, on Thursday at 14:00 p.m.

The real test for all will be the general policy statement: a union leader recalled in recent days that the tradition is rather to "complain once the Prime Minister has spoken".