France: arduous work the sticking point in pension talks

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After several months of negotiations, the 18th and final meeting of French social partners convened to improve the pension reform ended in failure on 23 June. While there was agreement on improving women's pensions and lowering the full retirement age, discussions stalled on the issue of arduous work. The government met with trade unions and employers' organisations on 24 June to find a "way forward".
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After the failure of negotiations to reverse the 2023 pension reform, French prime minister François Bayrou met separately with the social partners on 24 June to seek a “way forward”. Speaking to the press, he said: “I cannot simply accept […] that we should be satisfied with failing so close to the goal.” Although the unions that remained at the table (CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC) had finally agreed not to revisit the retirement age, which had been raised from 62 to 64, they hoped to find common...

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