The bill on the employment of seniors presented to the Council of Ministers

"We have made significant progress in the employment rate of 55-59 year-olds since the 2010 and 2023 pension reforms. But we must make progress in the over-60s, only 35% of whom are in employment, compared to 70% in Northern European countries," the minister said after the Council meeting.

Beyond the law and in order to "deconstruct prejudices" against "experienced employees", it announced the launch of a communications campaign at the end of May.

The national interprofessional agreement (ANI) signed by the three employers' organizations (Medef, CPME, U2P) and four of the five representative employee unions (CFDT, FO, CFE-CGC and CFTC) provides for access to phased retirement four years before the legal retirement age, compared to two currently, but the system will remain subject to the employer's agreement.

The agreement also establishes a permanent contract for senior employees, known as the Experience Valorization Contract (CVE), designed to facilitate hiring and allow for retirement by the employer as soon as the employee is entitled to a full pension. It also includes a section on social dialogue with an obligation to negotiate, as well as two professional interviews, at age 45 and between ages 58 and 60.

The bill, which will be examined by the Senate on June 5, incorporates these measures. It will also transpose another ANI concerning social dialogue in companies and removing the limit of three successive terms for elected members of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), in response to a union demand.

It must also allow for the entry into force of the reduction in the minimum period of affiliation, from six to five months, for those new to unemployment insurance. This provision of the new unemployment insurance agreement required a legislative measure to come into force.

Finally, the government plans to include in the text a future ANI on professional transitions and retraining, which must be the subject of express negotiation from mid-May.

The existing systems are "too complex and too little used by some," according to the minister, who wants to "make them more manageable, understandable, effective, and more closely aligned with job demands and the needs of businesses."