After the failure of the pension conclave, François Bayrou reports "progress", but no signed agreement

By The New Obs

Published on June 26, 2025 at 6:49 p.m. , updated on June 26, 2025 at 7:23 p.m.

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Summary: The Prime Minister outlined on Thursday the few compromises reached between the social partners after several months of discussions. He has set a date for Parliament to meet again in the fall.

He wanted to find "a way forward" after the failure of the pension conclave. Prime Minister François Bayrou held a press conference this Thursday, June 26, in an attempt to emerge from five months of discussions between unions and employers on the highly contested 2023 pension reform. He said he was "impressed by the progress" during the negotiations and reported "advances"... but without a signed agreement.

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On Monday evening, the last-chance meeting to negotiate improvements to pension reform between the unions (CFDT, CFTC, and CFE-CGC) and employers (Medef and CPME) ended in failure. The head of government then met with the unions and then the employers, hoping that a "way through" was still possible.

Listing the progress made in the negotiations, which did not lead to a complete agreement, François Bayrou, during his press conference on Thursday, stated the desire to "significantly and immediately improve the pensions of women […] who have had children." He also announced that a compromise had been reached to reduce the full retirement age from 67 to 66 and a half.

Another "decisive" step forward in the eyes of the Prime Minister: the absence of any questioning by the negotiators - the CGT and FO have long since slammed the door - of the increase to 64 of the legal retirement age introduced by the Borne law of 2023. And to add that " all the participants have accepted the return to balance by 2030 to ensure the safeguarding of our pay-as-you-go system" , affirmed the Prime Minister.

On the outstanding issues, François Bayrou considered a compromise on the issue of hardship, the main sticking point between social partners, to be "within reach." He stated that negotiations would continue in the coming days under conditions he did not specify.

If an agreement is not reached, François Bayrou will "take responsibility" and make proposals. He will then submit them "to Parliament in the autumn" in a draft social security financing bill (PLFSS), the Prime Minister continued, repeating that "by July 14 [he] will tell the French people what are the ways and means to enter into a plan to return to balance."

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