The unemployment insurance system is piloted by Unédic, managed by the social partners. They renegotiate the rules every 2 to 3 years to take into account changes in the labor market, these rules being formalized in an agreement that the State validates.
Since 2018, the government has sent a framework letter to the social partners ahead of negotiations, which sets objectives to be achieved. Without an agreement, the State takes back control with a “deficiency decree”.
At the beginning of August, the State had set the rules: no return on the 2019 reform, which tightened the conditions of access to unemployment compensation, nor on that of 2023, which modulates the conditions of unemployment insurance. unemployment depending on the labor market situation and reduced the duration of compensation by 25%.
In extremis, the employers and the CFDT, FO and CFTC reached an agreement on November 10 on the compensation rules for the next four years. But the government decided not to approve the agreement while awaiting the outcome of another negotiation on the employment of seniors, initially under discussion until March 26, finally extended until the beginning of April. A decree extends the current rules until June 30, 2024.
Faced with the difficulties of negotiations, and to facilitate reforms, Bruno Le Maire made a shocking proposal, in an interview with Le Monde, dated Thursday March 7. “The State should regain control of the regime definitively,” explained the Minister of the Economy. A declaration validated by the Elysée, which offended the unions and employers, since it is they, theoretically, who manage the system, via Unedic.