France to present EU pay transparency bill to cabinet on 9 September

Cabinet timetable and transposition delays

France will present its draft bill transposing the European Union pay transparency directive to the Council of Ministers on 9 September. Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou announced the timeline on 25 August during the back-to-school gathering of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT) in Paris. Member states approved the underlying European directive in 2023, establishing an initial transposition deadline of 7 June. France, alongside several other European countries, missed that target date after encountering marked disagreements between trade unions and employer federations, compounded by a congested parliamentary agenda.

Transparency obligations for employers

The draft law introduces specific information requirements for employers across both the private sector and the civil service. Under the planned rules, companies must state an explicit salary range in all published job postings. Current employees will hold a legal right to request information about the average remuneration levels of colleagues performing the same work or work of equal value, with the data broken down by sex. Any identified pay differences must be justifiable through objective and gender-neutral factors, including professional experience, individual skills, specific working conditions, assigned responsibilities, or performance metrics. Furthermore, the legislative package incorporates financial sanctions against organisations that maintain substantial, unjustified gender wage gaps.

Public sector concerns and union reaction

Officials and members of the CFDT applauded the ministerial announcement while emphasizing the need for rigorous implementation. Union leaders maintained that pay gaps remain widespread throughout the French economy, including within public administration. Catherine Nave-Bekhti, national secretary of the CFDT, outlined the union's legislative stance during the gathering.

We are ready to discuss with parliamentarians and continue the work of persuasion so that we have a high-level transposition of this directive, because our country is still very far from the mark in terms of wage equality between women and men.

Public sector staff attending the union event shared practical observations regarding current pay dynamics. Eve, representing the hospital branch of the CFDT, noted that public administration is not exempt from wage disparity and that prevailing assumptions of automatic equality need to be addressed. Laetitia, a modern literature teacher, explained that additional tasks, extra teaching hours, and specific assignments disproportionately benefit male colleagues, as female staff continue to bear more domestic duties outside the workplace. Hubert, another public employee, voiced apprehension that administrative inertia could slow implementation in the public sector relative to the private market.

Legislative calendar ahead of elections

Following the presentation to the Council of Ministers on 9 September, the bill must navigate the parliamentary process. The government indicated in late June that it aims to secure a final vote on the text prior to the next presidential election. CFDT leader Marylise Léon pledged that the labor organization will actively ensure the measure is formally enacted into law despite the packed legislative calendar. Union officials described the upcoming cabinet submission as a reassuring step that diminishes the risk of the reform stalling before the electoral cycle concludes.