Pension Conclave: How the Medef (French employers' association) ruined the negotiations (with Bayrou's complicity)
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Patrick Martin, head of Medef, received at the Elysée Palace on June 5, 2025. JEANNE ACCORSINI/SIPA
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Analysis The main employers' organization has been inflexible during the last round of negotiations, particularly after the Prime Minister reversed his position on the assumption of leaving the law unchanged.
Black smoke at the pensions conclave. On the night of Tuesday, June 17th to Wednesday, June 18th, the six months of negotiations between unions and employers to rework the 2023 reform, which raised the retirement age to 64, ended in a damp squib. Not officially a failure, because the government is proposing to extend the discussion until Monday, June 23rd, but a bitter acknowledgement of disagreement. And the fault lies primarily with the main employers' organization, the Medef (French employers' association), which remained inflexible until the end. "It was really the Medef (French employers' association) that ruined the negotiations," declared Pascale Coton, a negotiator for the CFTC (French Trade Union Confederation of Labour). "I'm angry. They didn't concede any effort from the companies and refused to give up anything to the employees, even when it cost them nothing!"
A quick flashback. In January, Prime Minister François Bayrou announced that he wanted to "get back to work" the highly unpopular 2023 pension reform by entrusting the social partners with the task of negotiating changes "without any taboos, not even age." This was a pledge given to the Socialist Party in order to avoid the censure that was hanging over it from the moment it was appointed. A clever maneuver. Especially since the Prime Minister is making changes...
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