France raises minimum wage by 1.6%, now €1,502 net a month

The raise lands December 1 and takes the full-time minimum wage to €1,502 net per month. Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou unveiled it Monday after sitting down with unions and employers. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was blunt about the size of it: the increase is not enough, he said, but it launches a cycle of discussions on wage increases.

Lecornu also flagged a broader tax relief reform and acknowledged employers' push to keep labor costs from climbing so French companies stay competitive. The announcement capped weeks of unrest that kicked off in high schools in September and swelled into a nationwide movement demanding higher wages and better public services.

The crowds have been enormous. Turnout peaked on November 5, when the Interior Ministry counted 575,000 demonstrators nationwide — the CGT union put the figure at nearly 1.6 million. That day, CGT Secretary-General Sophie Binet told reporters the only thing that will stop the mobilization is a response to the demands, with her union counting more than 250,000 people across 73 cities by 1 pm.

Unions aren't done. An inter-union group covering national education, higher education and research has called strikes and demonstrations for Tuesday, November 10, saying the government's social conference on wages looked set to shut out public-sector workers — a new provocation if that holds.

In Paris, authorities expect 40,000 to 60,000 people at a Saturday march against the cost of living, BFMTV reported, citing a law-enforcement source. The union-backed route runs from Place de la République at 2 pm to Place de la Nation, and police banned a separate Yellow Vests rally at Place de la Concorde — though organizers say they intend to gather there anyway. Some 70,000 police officers and gendarmes are deployed across France.

The budget is another flashpoint. The National Assembly unanimously rejected the 2027 budget bill on Wednesday, and Lecornu is weighing Article 49.3 of the Constitution — which lets his government adopt a bill without a parliamentary vote — to force it through, according to BFMTV, citing a close associate. He has used the measure before.