Pensions: François Bayrou will speak on Thursday at 5 p.m. after his discussions with social partners

François Bayrou will hold a press conference this Thursday, June 26 at 5 p.m. at Matignon "to draw the conclusions of (his) discussions" with social partners on pensions, after the failure of four months of consultations between the latter, Matignon announced Wednesday.

The Prime Minister had just told the Senate that he would "resolve" on Thursday afternoon the "disagreements" on pensions between the unions and employers, whom he received at Matignon on Tuesday in an attempt to find a "way through."

The head of government, who met with social partners on Tuesday to try to overcome the failure of the pensions conclave, is now the target of a motion of censure by Socialist Party deputies.

"You made commitments" that "were not kept," declared Boris Vallaud, president of the Socialist Party group in the National Assembly, in the chamber of the National Assembly. The Socialists criticize François Bayrou for not committing to presenting a text that would allow for debate on the retirement age of 64.

"The goal of the work I have set myself is that (...) we find this path" towards "a text that could be examined by the national representation," replied François Bayrou.

Just before this face-to-face meeting in the hemicycle, he received at Matignon the three unions participating in the conclave (CDFT, CFTC and CFE-CGC ), then the president of Medef, Patrick Martin, and finally the head of CPME, Amir Reza-Tofighi.

The Prime Minister decided to launch these meetings after the failure of the conclave on Monday evening, which is also a setback for the method of social dialogue that he advocated.

"I cannot accept without reacting that we are satisfied with failing so close to the goal," he explained on Tuesday morning.

He received the support of President Emmanuel Macron, who since Oslo has "ardently encouraged" the social partners "to move beyond the disagreements that persist and to find together a solution that is good for the country."

According to statements by the social partners as they left Matignon, the Prime Minister asked them during the meeting to address to him their sticking points in their discussions.

"The idea is that there will be no new negotiation session, it will be up to the Prime Minister to take note and decide by the end of the week what to do with what is on the table today," said Marylise Léon, the general secretary of the CFDT , as he left.

On the Medef side, its president Patrick Martin said he was "fully in agreement with transmitting" to the Prime Minister the list of remaining disagreements, "in the spirit of reaching" an agreement, but "without this resulting in an increase in contributions from employees or companies."

FO and the CGT, which had withdrawn very quickly from the discussions, were not invited to Matignon on Tuesday, despite the request of CGT general secretary Sophie Binet.

On Monday evening, the social partners failed to reach an agreement to amend the Borne reform to make it less unpopular and restore the pension system to balance by 2030, despite a deficit of €6.6 billion currently being forecast for that date.

The social partners, close to a consensus on measures in favour of women who have had children, are opposed on the consideration of hardship.

The MEDEF (French employers' association) rejects the CFDT's proposal, supported by the other two unions, for a points system that would allow for the recognition of physically demanding work hours (load-carrying, physical postures, mechanical vibrations) and provide for the possibility of early retirement. Instead, it proposes bringing forward the retirement dates of people on disability or those recognized as unfit for work by one or two years, depending on the circumstances.

CPME leader Amir Reza-Tofighi urged on Tuesday evening that an agreement be reached on this issue: "It really must be around hardship that we can find" a "way through," he declared, after his meeting with François Bayrou.

The social partners are also at odds over the financing of the measures that would be adopted. They agree that retirees should bear a very large share of the cost of returning to equilibrium, through under-indexing of pensions.

But the unions criticize the Medef for refusing any participation from companies in this return to balance, for example by opposing any increase in social security contributions, whether employer or employee.

And the two sides disagree on the extent of the tightening of the long-career system, with the Medef (French employers' association) calling for a very significant tightening of the screws at the expense of employees, while the unions are only willing to accept a more limited overhaul.

The conclave was the result of a compromise reached with the Socialists to avoid a government vote of confidence in the 2025 budget. The Prime Minister had pledged to present its conclusions to Parliament.

The possibility of reversing the retirement age of 64 was quickly dismissed. This flagship, and unpopular, measure of the 2023 Borne reform will therefore remain in effect for employees born on or after January 1, 1968.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, leader of the Republicans, said on Tuesday that "the greatest achievement" of the conclave would be to entrust the management of pensions to the social partners.

Before the Socialists, La France Insoumise quickly called on other left-wing groups on Monday evening to join a motion of no confidence in the government. But in the absence of votes from the National Rally , which has warned it will not join, the government seems certain to remain in power. Before facing even more perilous budget debates this summer and fall.