France's national minimum wage will rise to 1,502 euros net on 1 December, but trade union Force Ouvriere has judged the 24 euro increase insufficient.
Frederic Souillot, the general secretary of Force Ouvriere, addressed the upcoming wage adjustment during an interview with journalist Alba Ventura on Tuesday on the French morning television programme Bonjour ! La Matinale TF1.
The monthly revision will lift take-home pay for full-time workers on the statutory minimum rate by 24 euros, bringing their net monthly earnings to 1,502 euros. The discussion, broadcast by commercial television network TF1 and published online by its news service TF1info, centred on worker purchasing power, with the union maintaining that the modest monthly increase fails to provide adequate financial relief.
How the French Minimum Wage Works
The statutory pay floor in France is known as the SMIC, short for Salaire Minimum Interprofessionnel de Croissance. Created by law in 1970 to replace the earlier guaranteed minimum wage, the system guarantees a baseline level of income for every employee regardless of their sector or profession.
The wage is calculated on the basis of a standard 35-hour working week, with the net figure representing the take-home pay remaining after mandatory social security deductions. Under French labour rules, the SMIC is legally tied to inflation and tracks the cost of living for low-income households, but labour unions have long argued that official price indices fail to capture the true cost of essentials such as food and energy.
Union Battle Over Purchasing Power
Force Ouvriere, founded in 1948 following a split from the Confederation Generale du Travail, is one of France's five nationally recognised trade union confederations. Souillot, who has led the union as general secretary since 2022, represents workers across both the private sector and public services in regular tripartite negotiations with employers and the French state.
The morning interview took place on TF1, France's most-watched commercial broadcaster. Ventura, an experienced political commentator who previously spent years covering national politics on French radio, conducts regular daily interviews on the morning show with political figures and labour leaders to scrutinise government economic policies.
The minimum wage revaluation takes effect across France on 1 December. The increase applies automatically to all workers earning the statutory minimum, while requiring industry bodies to review their collective pay scales so that baseline sector rates do not fall below the legal threshold.
