In summary

In France there is a statutory minimum wage of 11.65€ per hour, which makes a minimum wage of 1766.92€ per month (-2.20% in real growth terms comparing to the previous year). The MW is set by the government after consultation with trade unions and employers. The criteria guiding the adjustments of MW are the following: Indexation according to consumer prices; at least 50% of real wage increases in average hourly wages; if inflation increases exceed 2% during the year, MW is automatically adjusted. There are Sub-minimum rate for workers younger than 18, apprentices, trainees and some workers with disabilities. The gender pay gap is 13.9%, while the in-work poverty rate is 7.5% (data for 2022). Finally, wage inequality (calculated as Interdecile ratio P90/P10) is 2.9.

Minimum Wage in France

Statutory Minimum Wage ?

Yes
Does your country have a statutory minimum wage? (yes or no). For Statutory it is intended “set by law”.

Hourly Minimum Wage

11.88€
In countries where MW are expressed in monthly pay (or weekly - MT), the amount is converted into hourly rates based on the average collectively agreed number of working hours per month, as provided by Eurofound (2023), or most recent data available. For non-euro countries, the values were converted to Euro by applying the exchange rate applicable at the end of the previous reference month (December 2023). Rates for countries with more than 12 wage payments per year (Greece, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) were converted by dividing the annual sum of the minimum wage by 12 calendar months.

Monthly Min. Wage

1802.00€
In countries in which the minimum wage is not explicitly set per month, the calculation of the monthly minimum wage is based on the hourly rate multiplied with the average collectively agreed number of working hours per month (full time equivalent). Or most recent data available.

MW as % Gross Median Wage

62.00%
Under the Directive, Member States are required to use indicative reference values when assessing of the adequacy of statutory minimum wages: 60% of the gross median wage. The data is based on the OECD Earnings Database (2024); for Malta and for Bulgaria the data was taken from Eurostat (2024). For Bulgaria the most recent figure available at Eurostat was for 2018.

MW as % Gross Average Wage

50.00%
Under the Directive, Member States are required to use indicative reference values when assessing of the adequacy of statutory minimum wages: 50% of the gross average wage. The data is based on the OECD Earnings Database (2024); for Malta and for Bulgaria the data was taken from Eurostat (2024).

Nominal Growth rate of Wages

2.00%
Development from January 2023 to January 2024 based on national currencies.

Real Growth rate of wages

-0.40%
Development from January 2023 to January 2024 based on national currencies. The calculation is based on the annual average of Eurostat's harmonized index of consumer prices.

Real Growth rate of wages

-0.40%
Development from January 2023 to January 2024 based on national currencies. The calculation is based on the annual average of Eurostat's harmonized index of consumer prices.

% of workers covered by minimum wage

11.60%

Automatic indexation of adjustments

yes
An indexation mechanism links the development of minimum wages to the development of other indicators such as inflation or negotiated wages.

MW setting procedure

Government after consultation with trade unions and employers
This indicator refers to the mechanism used to set the minimum wage involving indexation, unilateral government decisions and different kinds of trilateral and bilateral negotiations with or without the involvement of expert commissions.

Criteria guiding adjustment of MW

Indexation according to consumer prices; at least 50% of real wage increases in average hourly wages; if inflation increases exceed 2% during the year, MW is automatically adjusted
The Directive specifies the following criteria for the adjustment of minimum wages: purchasing power of statutory minimum wages taking into consideration the cost of living, general level of wages and their distribution, growth rate of wages and long-term productivity levels and their developments.

Variations from statutory Minimum Wage

Sub-minimum rate for workers younger than 18, apprentices, trainees and some workers with disabilities
Variations refer to the fact that Member States may allow for different rates of statutory minimum wages for specific groups of workers such as in particular young workers.

Presence of variations from statutory minimum wages

Sub-minimum rate for workers younger than 18, apprentices, trainees and some workers with disabilities

Consultative body on statutory Minimum Wage and social partner involvement

The tripartite National Committee of Collective Bargaining, Employment and Vocational Training is consulted on the government proposal which also takes into account the recommendation of the Minimum Wage Expert Commission composed of various scientists.
The Directive requires Member States to involve the two sides of industry into the setting and updating of statutory minimum wages in a timely manner which involves the establishment of consultative bodies such as low-pay or minimum wage commissions or other tri- and bipartite structures whose advice can be but does not need to be binding.

Gender Pay Gap

12.20%
The unadjusted gender pay gap is calculated as the difference between the average gross hourly earnings of male and female paid employees as a percentage of average gross hourly earnings of male paid employees (latest data Eurostat, 2022).

In-work poverty rate

7.00%
In-work at-risk-of-poverty rate refers to the percentage of persons, who declared to be employed or self-employed, being at risk of poverty (i.e. with a disposable income below the threshold, set at 60 % of the national median disposable income after social transfers) (latest data Eurostat, 2023).

Wage inequality (inter-decile Ratio P90/P10)

2.90
The P90/P10 inter-decile ratio is the ratio of the upper bound value of the ninth decile (i.e. the 10% of people with highest wage level) to that of the first decile (i.e. the 10% of people with lowest wage level) (OECD Stat, 2022).

In summary

In France, the collective bargaining coverage is 98%. Wages bargaining take place mostly at sectoral level. Collective agreements are valid  beyond their expiration. There is no national law dealing with collective bargaining clauses in public procurement; however, according to administrative case law, if a branch agreement has been the subject of an extension procedure validated by the Ministry of Labour, then the agreement applies to the entire sector of activity and consequently to companies bidding for a public procurement contract. Trade unions officials have no access to the workplace, and workers and trade union representatives have a protection against discrimination/dismissal. According to a February 2019 DARES study (document d'etudes no 228), on average, one company in four is a member of an employers' organisations. The Directive (EU) 2022/2041 has been partially transposed by adopting a law decree n° 2024-1065, inserting an article with the reference values ​​for the assessment provided for in Article 5 (Adequacy of minimum wages) of the Directive.

Collective Bargaining in France

Collective Bargaining Coverage

98.00%
Collective Bargaining coverage is measured as the share of employees covered by a collective agreement (in percent) of the number of employees with the right to bargain (OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database, 2021 or most recent year available – for DE source is IAB 2024; for NL, source is De Burcht 2024; for ES source is Spanish Ministry for Labour and Social Economy 2024).

Predominant level at which wage bargaining takes place (in terms of coverage of employees)

Sector
Collective bargaining can take place at several levels: cross-sectoral, sectoral or company/enterprise level. The predominant level is measured in terms of coverage of employees by collective agreements at the various levels.

Extension Mechanism

Frequent extension
Extension mechanisms refer to the rules that ensure that a collective agreement also applies to companies and employees who are not a member of the signatory parties to the agreement (i.e. trade unions and employers' associations).

Valididy of Collective Agreeements after expirations?

Yes
Are the collective agreements in your country still valid beyond their expiration? (yes or no)

Exclusion of group of employees from collective bargaining

According to the Observatoire des inégalités, certain categories of workers may be excluded from the statutory minimum wage. These include apprentices, work-study students under the age of 26, trainees and employees under the age of 18 with less than six months' seniority, holiday centre leaders and managers, childminders, foster carers and family assistants, disabled workers in sheltered accommodation, and workers in prison. Self-employed contractors are also excluded from the legal minimum wage because they are not considered to be employees.
In some countries certain groups of employees (for instance civil servants or solo self-employed) do not have the right to collective bargaining.

Trade Union Involvement in Action Plan drafting

The tripartite National Committee of Collective Bargaining, Employment and Vocational Training is consulted on the government proposal which also takes into account the recommendation of the Minimum Wage Expert Commission composed of various scientists. But this is just a consultation.
The Directive's requirement to establish an action plan to promote collective bargaining includes the obligation of timely and meaningful involvement of trade unions (based on info from affiliates).

Trade Union Density

10.80%
Trade union density is measured as the share of employees who are a member of a trade union (in percent) of the overall workforce (OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database, 2019 or the most recent year available)

Collective bargaining clauses in Public Procurement

The law makes no provision for this. However, according to administrative case law (Conseil d'Etat), if a branch agreement has been the subject of an extension procedure validated by the Ministry of Labour, and therefore recorded in a decree (which the CJEU would describe as a ‘collective agreement of general application’), then the agreement applies to the entire sector of activity and consequently to companies bidding for a public procurement contract. The problem lies in the practical application of this rule, which drastically limits its scope.
This category refers to clauses which ensure that public contracts are awarded only to those companies which provide collectively agreed wages and which respect the workers' right to bargain collectively.

Call to introduce or strengthen sectoral system of collective bargaining

Yes, but... The Labour Code provides for compulsory annual negotiations (subject to adjustment) at branch and company level. However, because there is a statutory minimum wage below which companies cannot go, this is not likely to encourage employers to negotiate minimum wages seriously. For this reason, many collective agreements provide for minimum wage scales below the legal minimum wage. As a result, these pay scales are not applied or renegotiated, and the statutory minimum wage is applied. Let's be clear, the problem is the absence in the law of a rule that would oblige the social partners to renegotiate upwards the minimum wages set by collective agreements as soon as they fall below the legal minimum wage.
The Directive explicitly requires Member States to strengthen (cross-)sectoral bargaining because countries with a bargaining coverage of 80% and more are characterized by well-developed sectoral bargaining systems.

Right of Access to workplace (also digitally)

no right for trade union officials to enter a workplace
The trade union right of access to companies is an important tool to increase bargaining coverage by strengthening the trade unions' capacity to act. This right can be granted either by law or by collective agreements and it either covers only companies where there is a union presence or all companies.

Protection of workers and trade union representatives against dismissal/discrimination

yes
Article 4(1) of the Directive stipulates that the Member States must take measures to protect the exercise of the right to collective bargaining and to protect these workers and union representatives from discrimination on the grounds that they participate or wish to participate in collective bargaining on wage-setting.

Financial incentives for union members

Yes, joining a trade union means that employees can claim a tax reduction by declaring their membership fees to the tax authorities.
One way to increase collective bargaining coverage by strengthening the unions' capacity to act is by providing financial incentives for workers to become a trade union member. This can take different forms which are set out in this category.

Presence of employers’ federation(s) with negotiating mandate

According to a February 2019 DARES study (document d'études no 228), ‘It thus appears that, on average, one company in four is a member of an employers’ organisation and that two employees in three work in these companies.’
One important reason for low collective bargaining coverage is the fact that there are no sectoral employers' associations as a negotiation partner of trade unions. Or where they exist they often do not have a negotiation mandate. Thus, promoting the establishment of sectoral employers' associations with a negotiation mandate is another important tool to increase bargaining coverage.

Obligation for employers to engage in sectoral bargaining

Yes, but... The Labour Code provides for compulsory annual negotiations (subject to adjustment) at branch and company level. However, it is an obligation to negotiate and not to conclude collective agreements. This raises the question of the practical effectiveness of the measure.
One principal reason for low bargaining coverage is the fact that employers and their associations are not willing to engage in negotiations with trade unions. An obligation for employers to engage in meaningful negotiations with trade unions could help to increase collective bargaining coverage.

Did your country start the process of transposition?

Partially Transposed
Concerning either the Minimum Wage settings or the Collective Bargaining systems. Monitored and categorised as: N/A; Assessment of current situation completed: no actions required; Not started; Discussion / preparation ongoing; Draft Legislation published; Parliamentary discussion started; Transposed.