The government is “ready” to slash 4 billion euros from its budget reduction in employers’ social security contributions initially presented in the 2025 budget. Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin proposed that “only half, 2 billion euros can be requested from companies”.on Sunday November 17 on LCI. According to the Minister, this would make it possible to “not penalize minimum wage earners”, whose employers would then see “the cost of that work increase”..

The executive had introduced this measure in the draft 2025 budget currently before Parliament to reduce the public deficit, the amount of which has doubled in ten years and is now close to 80 billion euros. But in early November, Economy Minister Antoine Armand had already announced that he wished to to “attenuate” the increase in employer contributions on low salaries provided for in the 2025 budget, without quantifying this proposal, in exchange for “other efforts which may concern working hours.

“We don’t work enough to finance our social protection”Laurent Saint-Martin also expressed his support on Sunday, declaring that “favorable” to the Senate’s proposal that working people be required to work an extra seven hours a year, without pay, to finance Social Security. The Senate is due to examine the Social Security budget in session starting Monday, before the State budget the following week.