Paris faces another strike on November 17 as unions reject minimum-wage rise of €24

France’s General Confederation of Labour (CGT), UNSA and a public-sector inter-union alliance on Monday (November 9) called a nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations for Tuesday, November 17, in the public and private sectors, protesting the minimum-wage rise announced after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s social conference. Paris and Île-de-France are expected to see another large march, twelve days after the nationwide demonstrations of November 5. (Image: file photo of a Paris demonstration.)

Minimum-wage rise dismissed as “crumbs”

The government will raise the minimum wage to €1,502 net from December 1, an increase of €24 that Lecornu described as one of the biggest in 20 years and said would not threaten jobs. But the automatic adjustment due on January 1 would already have added about €18, so the real increase amounts to only a few euros; CGT general secretary Sophie Binet called it “crumbs” and demanded about €150 net more a month, with wages indexed to inflation, warning that mobilization would continue until pay rises and calling for negotiations to open in every company.

Who is calling the strike, and what they want

Six public-sector unions — the CGT, UNSA, FSU, Solidaires, CFE-CGC and FAFP — jointly demand immediate pay rises, an increase in the civil service index point, frozen for a fourth year running, with indexation to inflation (3.4 percent in October), and the abolition of the waiting day before sick-leave benefits begin. UNSA has broadened its call to cross-industry action. The CFDT, France’s largest union, considers the rise insufficient but has not joined for now, and Force Ouvrière has not joined either.

Government package and transport impact

The social conference also produced a package of purchasing-power measures: the tax-exemption cap on overtime rises from €7,500 to €10,000; in the 2027 finance bill, employers covering up to 75 percent of public transport passes will be exempt; the CSG exemption on value-sharing bonuses is extended to companies with more than 50 employees; and the fuel bonus is extended into 2027, worth up to €1,000. Neither the RATP nor the SNCF has yet issued a strike notice for November 17, and the Paris march route has not been announced; schools, nurseries, town halls and hospitals are likely to be affected, and teachers must declare their intention to strike 48 hours in advance. Education workers are also striking on November 10, and retirees plan to march on November 19.