Jean-Pierre Farandou hopes for the presentation of a law on salary transparency "before the summer"

Mr. Farandou expressed "hope of being able to present a law to Parliament before the summer - at least initiated before the summer - to ensure that it is implemented as quickly as possible", during a meeting with the press, organized by the Association of Social Information Journalists (Ajis).

According to European rules, this directive must be transposed into French law before June 7, 2026. It will require companies to specify the salary, or a salary range, in job offers and will establish for employees a right to obtain information on the remuneration levels of their colleagues performing work of "equal value" to their own.

Consultations are currently underway with social partners with a view to transposition.

While some unions are expressing concern that the law puts in place sanctions for failures to comply with reporting obligations but not for the lack of reduction of the gender pay gap, Mr. Farandou stressed that the directive provides for sanctions for "companies that do not respect the rules of transparency, since that is the major objective of this directive: to know the facts".

"Should we go further? That is also a second topic of discussion" with the social partners, he said, hoping at this stage that the discussion "will continue its course".

In France, the gender pay gap across all working hours stands at 22% according to INSEE data in 2023. For equal working hours, they earn 14% less than men, a gap which is still 4% when working hours are the same and the position comparable.