France's labor minister hopes for wage measures by November 5 as pressure builds for a minimum wage boost

France's labor minister said on Tuesday that he hopes the government can announce measures on wages around Thursday, November 5. Unions have called a national day of strikes and protests over pay for that day. The main question is whether the government will raise the minimum wage, the SMIC, by more than the legal formula requires.

Jean-Pierre Farandou spoke during questions to the government in the National Assembly. "I hope that, with all the partners, we will be able to converge," he said, according to BFM Business and Europe 1, both citing AFP. "I hope that the government, around November 5, will be able to present measures that can restart wage growth in our country."

Farandou has met unions and employer groups in recent days. He said they had laid "the foundations of a software," meaning a framework that includes work on the SMIC. He said the minimum wage is "not taboo." But he said the government must watch the consequences of a raise for "employment."

No decision has been announced. The government of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has not said how large any raise would be.

Quotations from French-language sources in this article are 567politics translations.

Why the minimum wage is on the table

Prices have risen faster this autumn, driven by energy. France's statistics agency INSEE estimated on October 30 that consumer prices rose 3.4 percent in the year to October. The figure is provisional; final data are due on November 13. Public Sénat reported that INSEE expects household purchasing power to fall 0.4 percent this year, after a similar fall last year.

Protests over the cost of living have taken place on three straight Saturdays, BFM Business reported. A group of unions has called for strikes and demonstrations in the public and private sectors on Thursday. School students have staged separate protests this autumn; 567politics has covered the lycée blockades and the November 5 strike.

The SMIC applies to about 2.1 million employees, not counting the civil service and agriculture, according to Public Sénat. The CGT puts the number at 2.2 million.

How the SMIC is set

The minimum wage rises automatically each January 1 under a legal formula based on prices and on the purchasing power of the hourly wage of workers and employees. It also rises automatically during the year if inflation passes 2 percent since the last raise. The government can add a discretionary increase on top, known as a "coup de pouce."

According to Public Sénat, the legal formula alone would raise the SMIC by about 1 percent on January 1. That would be a gain of about €15 net a month for a full-time worker. BFM Business said those taking part in the talks assume the mechanical increase would be about 0.8 to 1 percent.

The SMIC has already risen twice in 2026. It went up 1.18 percent on January 1 and 2.41 percent in June, after inflation passed the 2 percent threshold. Employers fear a total rise of more than 5 percent over the year, BFM Business reported. That compares with raises of about 2 percent for wages above the minimum.

10.5

11

11.5

12

12.5

Jan 202210.57

May 202210.85

Aug 202211.07

Jan 202311.27

May 202311.52

Jan 202411.65

Nov 202411.88

Jan 202511.88

Jan 202612.02

Jun 202612.31

Jan 2022Aug 2022May 2023Nov 2024Jun 2026

Source: Urssaf

Show the numbers

Date	Gross hourly SMIC (€)
Jan 2022	10.57
May 2022	10.85
Aug 2022	11.07
Jan 2023	11.27
May 2023	11.52
Jan 2024	11.65
Nov 2024	11.88
Jan 2025	11.88
Jan 2026	12.02
Jun 2026	12.31

According to Urssaf, the full-time gross monthly SMIC for 35 hours a week is now €1,867.02. 20 Minutes reported that the net monthly amount has been €1,477.93 since June 1.

The options

BFM Business reported that one option is to bring the January raise forward by one month, to December 1. A coup de pouce could be added on top of that. Farandou said last week that "nothing" had been decided about an early raise, Public Sénat reported.

Les Echos reported that the government is considering an extra 0.5 or 0.6 percentage point above the mechanical increase, according to Public Sénat. That would mean a total gain of about €22 net a month for a full-time SMIC worker. It would be the first coup de pouce since 2012. 20 Minutes reported that the last one was in July 2012.

Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said on Monday that a move on the SMIC was an "open" option. "When you ask this question, what lies behind it? The question of business competitiveness, the question of public finances," she said, according to Public Sénat. "We have to look at the question as a whole."

The cost would not fall only on private employers. Public Sénat noted that a raise also affects the wage bills of the state, local governments and hospitals. In June the government created a top-up payment for 862,000 public employees whose pay had been overtaken by the SMIC.

What unions want

The unions' demands go well beyond the options reported so far.

• CFDT, France's largest union, wants €100 net more a month. 20 Minutes calculated that this would be a 6.8 percent rise. The CFDT also calls for annual wage talks, for branch negotiations backed by an end to state aid where talks do not open, and for higher taxes on top incomes. Its weekly said some workers are "reduced to sleeping in their cars."
• CGT wants "an immediate 10 percent increase in the SMIC to bring it to €2,053.72 gross at first, then to €2,200," 20 Minutes reported. Europe 1 said the CGT also wants all wages indexed to prices. In its strike call, a CGT federation noted that CAC 40 companies paid €107.6 billion to shareholders in 2025.
• FO wants the SMIC set at 80 percent of the median wage, according to 20 Minutes. INSEE put the private-sector median net wage at €2,238 in 2025.
• CFTC is asking for a 2 percent raise, or at least 1.6 percent, BFM Business reported.
• CFE-CGC, which represents managers, warned of the "crushing" of pay scales as the minimum catches up with the wages just above it, 20 Minutes reported.

BFM Business reported that the CFDT wants €100 and the CGT and FO €150, which it said would mean raises of 7 to 10 percent.

What employers say

Employer groups oppose a coup de pouce. Medef President Patrick Martin warned on franceinfo on October 23 that a higher SMIC would put companies "in a trap." "On the grounds of buying social peace in the street, we are going to create chaos in companies," he said. He said the 2027 social security budget already adds €11.5 billion in labor costs and that "we will also take the risk of eliminating 200,000 jobs."

Amir Reza-Tofighi, president of the small-business group Les Entrepreneurs (formerly CPME), told Le Parisien that "given the situation of companies, the lack of growth and the economic context, this coup de pouce is very risky," Public Sénat reported.

Employers also point to the government's decision not to update the scale of payroll tax relief on low wages. In June, the government froze that scale when the SMIC rose, which saved the public finances €2 billion, according to Public Sénat. The freeze is set to continue.

Pay scales below the minimum

The minister also said that branch-level minimum wages that are sometimes below the SMIC "must be raised through negotiation." When the SMIC rises, the lowest steps on some negotiated pay scales fall below it. Employers must still pay at least the SMIC.

Sixty-nine professional branches have minimum wages below the SMIC, according to labor ministry figures from October, BFM Business reported. Unions put the number at 122.

The 2026 social security financing law included a measure to reduce payroll tax relief for companies in branches whose minimum wages stay below the SMIC. It still needs a decree to take full effect. The CFTC and CFE-CGC are waiting for that decree, BFM Business reported. Employer groups argue the measure may be unconstitutional because a company could lose relief over talks it does not control.

Senators are divided

Public Sénat found no consensus in the Senate. Socialist group leader Patrick Kanner said a raise of "25 or 30 euros more a month" matters to people who count every cent. But he said purchasing power is a question "for all employees," including civil servants. Communist senator Fabien Gay called a 0.5-point raise "a joke" and said it "does not even cover inflation."

On the right, Les Républicains senator Marie-Claire Carrère-Gée called on November 1 for an early raise with a coup de pouce. Public Sénat noted that her party's candidate, Bruno Retailleau, prefers to act on working hours to raise pay. LR senator Olivier Rietmann warned that a raise without help for companies "is shifting the purchasing power problem of our citizens onto businesses." He suggested cutting payroll contributions and looking at VAT instead.

Green senator Yannick Jadot backs the program of Raphaël Glucksmann, which would raise the net SMIC to €1,700 through a state raise and a cut in the CSG social levy on low wages. Horizons candidate Édouard Philippe said on TF1 that raising the SMIC when "the French economy has a huge competitiveness problem" seemed "an illusory solution."

What comes next

Unions and the government will be watching turnout on Thursday. Any early raise would need a government decree. The Assembly is also debating the 2027 state budget. A raise in the SMIC would also add to public-sector pay costs, Public Sénat noted.

Differing perspectives

Should France give the minimum wage a raise above the legal formula?

Each position is summarized as its supporters make it, with equal weight and in alphabetical order. A summary is not an endorsement; the evidence for each is weighed in the story above.

• General wage rise and indexation

  Who holds it: CGT (FNPOS CGT federation)

  The CGT argues a SMIC of about €1,478 net is far too low to live on while CAC 40 companies paid €107.6 billion to shareholders in 2025. It calls for an immediate general increase in wages, pensions and social benefits, indexation of wages to inflation, and higher social contributions, and rejects cutting contributions to bring net pay closer to gross.

  In their words: CGT Organismes sociaux ↗

• No coup de pouce

  Who holds it: Medef, Patrick Martin

  Medef argues a coup de pouce would trap companies already facing €11.5 billion in extra labor costs in the 2027 social security budget. Its president says that buying social peace in the street would create chaos inside companies, and that a higher minimum wage would risk eliminating 200,000 jobs.

  In their words: franceinfo ↗

• Possible, but weigh the effect on jobs

  Who holds it: Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou, Lecornu government

  The labor minister says the minimum wage is not taboo and hopes the government can present measures around November 5 to restart wage growth. He argues any raise must take account of its effect on employment, and that branch minimum wages below the SMIC should be raised through negotiation, alongside mandatory annual pay talks inside companies.

  In their words: BFM Business / AFP ↗

• Raise it by €100 net a month

  Who holds it: CFDT

  The CFDT calls for a €100 net monthly increase in the SMIC, saying some workers are reduced to sleeping in their cars. It wants annual wage negotiations, branch talks backed by ending company aid where negotiations do not open, and higher taxes on top incomes so that people can live from their work.

  In their words: Syndicalisme Hebdo (CFDT) ↗