Pensions: After FO and U2P, the CGT slams the door, what consequences for the conclave?

After the shattering departure of FO and the U2P, it is the CGT’s turn to slam the door of the conclave on pensions, denouncing a dialogue which has become sterile. These successive withdrawals throw a shadow on the future of negotiations and relaunch the spectrum of a failure with heavy consequences. Explanations.

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Towards an announced failure? The conclave, initially organized for “Return to work” The pension reform and the decline in the legal retirement age, now seems to be shattered. Sunday March 16, in Political questions (Radio France and The world), Prime Minister François Bayrou, who had nevertheless announced the launch of the conclave, said that“A return to 62 years (was) impossible due to the international context”.

And to specify: “I do not believe that the parametric question, that is to say the question of saying” this is the age for everyone “, the only track», Insisting on the priority of bringing back “At equilibrium the private pension system at 2030”. Declarations perceived as a real turning point in social dialogue, in particular by the CGT, which saw it as a questioning of the very objective of the conclave.

The reasons for the withdrawals of FO, the U2P and the CGT

FO, first to leave the table. Force Ouvrière was the first union organization to slam the door of the conclave, from its inaugural meeting on February 27, 2025. The union denounced a “masquerade” and a frame of discussion too locked. FO estimated that the room for maneuver was nonexistent and that the debates would not make it possible to question the foundations of the reform of 2023, in particular the postponement of the legal age to 64 years, which it continues to reject firmly.

The U2P denounces an unfavorable reform to small businesses. The Union of Local Companies also left the Conclave a few weeks after FO (March 18, 2025), evoking deep disagreements on the guidelines taken during the discussions. The president of the U2P said that the proposals currently on the table did not take sufficient account of the specificities of craftsmen, traders and liberal professions, and that they risked heavily penalizing these already weakened economic actors.

The CGT reacts to the words of Bayrou and slam the door. On March 19, 2025, the CGT in turn decided to withdraw from the consultations. The decision follows the remarks made by François Bayrou two days earlier. The Confederation saw it as an admission of failure of the process and a lack of sincerity in exchanges. In a statement, the Confederal Executive Commission said these declarations changed the nature of the discussions, emptying them with their substance. She therefore proposed to her bodies to officially leave the conclave, judging that the conditions for a constructive dialogue were no longer met.

Is this the death of the conclave on pensions?

These successive departures – FO, the U2P, then the CGT – a hard blow to the credibility of the conclave, the objective of which was to identify a lasting compromise on the future of pensions. Deprived of three major players, consultation now appears wobbly, exposed to the risk of leading to partial agreements, not very representative and difficult to have all the social partners accepted. Faced with the dead end, the executive could be tempted to regain control. Two emerging scenarios: relaunch a new cycle of negotiations, or slice unilaterally by legislative way. A risky decision in an always unstable social climate.

Within the government, the lines diverge. Sunday, the Minister of Economy Eric Lombard wanted to be reassuring: “I am sure that the Prime Minister thinks that it is the social partners at the end of deciding.” However, he recalled that “62 years old have a high cost”while stressing that“There are other measures that can compensate for an age measure”. Conversely, the Minister of Public Accounts Amélie de Montchalin made a more decided speech on Monday on Europe 1: “Retirement at 62 is not realistic.” And to salute the clarity of the head of government: “I think it is honesty on the part of the Prime Minister to say it.”

Despite everything, some members of the majority refuse to ring the death knell. “No, he’s not dead”On Tuesday Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, Minister for Labor and Employment Delegate. She pleads so that “These consultations go as far as their end” and always defends “The bet of collective intelligence”. To date, only the CFTC and the CFE-CGC continue to participate in the unions on the unions, alongside MEDEF and the CPME for employers.

Recall that during his declaration of general policy, on January 14, François Bayrou had presented the framework of the conclave in these terms: “If during this conclave, this delegation finds a balance and better justice agreement, we will adopt it.” And to specify that Parliament would be seized as part of the social security financing bill in the fall of 2025, “Or before, and if necessary by a law”. On the other hand, “If negotiations fail, it is the current reform that would continue to apply”. The hypothesis of a suspension of the reform of Elisabeth Borne is currently not envisaged.