France - Public-sector pay talks collapse - August 31, 2026

On 8 July 2026, the Government and all eight representative civil-service unions met at the Finance Ministry for the first general wage negotiation in three years — and walked away without an agreement. The Minister for Public Action and Accounts refused any across-the-board rise in the "point d'indice," the base index used to calculate most civil servants’ pay, which has been frozen at € 4.92278 since July 2023. His ministry argued that even a 1% increase would cost the state € 2.4 billion a year. The CGT Fonction publique union called the meeting a "mascarade," accusing the Government of showing contempt for public employees’ purchasing power. All eight unions rejected the outcome and announced a joint national strike and demonstration for 29 September 2026.

Read on: in French…

More information: https://www.etui.org/newsletters