France’s main trade unions confronted Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Wednesday, demanding clear concessions on austerity policies and the suspension of pension reforms. The meeting followed a nationwide mobilization against economic cuts and tax injustice, with unions warning of further strikes if their demands are ignored.

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Union leaders from CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, Unsa, FSU and Solidaires entered the Hôtel de Matignon at 10:30 a.m., where they were welcomed by outgoing Labor and Health Minister Catherine Vautrin. Their ultimatum to Lecornu, issued after the September 18 demonstrations, expired the same day.

Since taking office, Lecornu has promised “substantial changes” and met unions individually. On Wednesday he received them collectively, in what labor leaders described as a critical turning point.

“If we do not receive a favorable response to all our demands, we will immediately call for a new day of strikes and demonstrations,” CGT Secretary General Sophie Binet said Tuesday on Ici Limousin. François Hommeril, head of CFE-CGC, told RMC: “We are in some way his last chance, and he, the Prime Minister, is in some way our last chance.”

The unions’ demands include repealing the 2023 pension reform, which raised the retirement age to 64, halting cuts to unemployment insurance, preventing the doubling of medical co-payments, lifting benefit freezes, and conditioning state subsidies to private firms on social and environmental standards.

“We want this reform repealed because it is the source of all the problems,” Binet said, describing President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to push it through as the origin of a “democratic crisis.”

Murielle Guilbert of Solidaires said expectations were high, stressing the urgency of measures for “the most vulnerable.” Limited adjustments addressing hardship or women’s rights under the pension system, she warned, “will not be enough to calm public anger.”

Lecornu has given little indication of his stance. On Tuesday he met for the third time with centrist and right-wing parties from his governing base, seeking agreement before opening talks with the Socialist Party to secure a budget.

Skepticism remains strong among unions. CFDT deputy leader Yvan Ricordeau said they expect “changes in content, objectives and framework,” but “on that, we have had nothing since his arrival.” CFTC’s Cyril Chabanier added that amid negotiations for a coalition —or what he called “a coalition of censure”— no decisive answers were expected on Wednesday.

Employer associations, including MEDEF, were scheduled to meet Lecornu later in the day.
The confrontation reflects a widening political and social rift. For unions, the outcome will test whether the government is prepared to address demands on pensions and austerity, or risk a new wave of strikes challenging both policy direction and democratic legitimacy.

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