Pensions "Conclave": Key points of the final stretch

White smoke or smog?

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Legal retirement age, hardship, corporate efforts... After four months of negotiations on pensions, unions and employers are meeting for the last time on June 17 to reach an agreement on these inflammatory issues.

Representatives of the social partners at the Ministry of Labor in Paris, January 17, 2025. (Albert Facelly/Libération)

After four months of discussions and upheavals, the consultation – called a "conclave" – on pensions is nearing its end, with a full day of supposedly conclusive debates this Tuesday, June 17. While François Bayrou has said he is prepared to grant an extension to the five union organizations (CFDT, CFE-CGC, and CFTC) and employers' organizations (Medef and CPME) still around the table, the terms of the final rush are in fact clearly set. "Things can move quickly if, at some point, some people give up," summarized Christelle Thieffinne, the leader of the CFE-CGC delegation, at the end of the June 12 discussion session.

Everything will revolve around a document concocted by Jean-Jacques Marette, the former general manager of the Agirc-Arrco supplementary pension scheme, whom the Prime Minister has tasked with facilitating the discussions. The mechanism is unique in that it will not result in a formal inter-professional agreement, as we have seen recently.

François Bayrou Pension reform