“De-cardiardize France”: the concept launched by Gabriel Attal, a quantified reality… and debates
Gabriel Attal, mardi, lors de son discours de politique générale. MAXPPP – Alexis Sciard
Au cours de son discours de politique générale, Gabriel Attal a dit vouloir s’attaquer au tassement des salaires. Si le constat est partagé, les solutions sont diversement appréciées.
"I assume to say it, we must de-emcardify France". In the middle of a 1 hour 20 minute general policy speech, this is one of the little sentences that provoked the most reactions. And not only for the shock formula well chosen by the new Prime Minister to outline his ambition.
Behind the words, there is in fact a quantified reality, that of a France which has never had such a large percentage of employees paid at the level of the minimum growth wage. According to the latest report from the minimum wage expert group published at the end of last year, 17.3% of employees in the non-agricultural private sector were affected by the increases in the minimum wage in 2023, compared to… 12%. in 2021, or one million additional workers in two years. The previous "record", at 16.3%, dated from 2005.
A decline in wages
You do not need to have done major economic studies to understand this phenomenon, which is mainly linked to the automatic revaluation of the minimum wage indexed to inflation. "The minimum wage was increased no less than seven times from January 1, 2021 to May 1, 2023 with a cumulative increase of +13.5%, including +6.6% year-on-year in January 1, 2023, the largest annual increase since 1991",reminded the group of experts. Raised in stages to 1766.92 € gross today, i.e. 1398.70 € In net, the minimum wage has gradually caught up with workers whose salary was slightly higher and whose increase was only due to the goodwill of their boss, a " settlement" salary scales say the specialists. Another phenomenon described by the president of the CFE-CGC, François Hommeril, a policy "of support for the creation of low-skilled jobs" with the aim of full employment, equally low-paid positions.
"Index all salaries to inflation!"
At the CGT, we obviously share the observation of a smicardisation of France… But we immediately move away from the government line."We have been denouncing this mechanism for several years, including in the public sector where remuneration has never been so low", Serge Ragazzacci says, the secretary of the departmental union of Hérault, who recalls that it was necessary to extract from Elisabeth Borne "a conference on low wages (last fall, Editor's note), but nothing came of it". For the CGT worker, however, there is a simple measure to put in place: "an indexation of all salaries to inflation and not just the minimum wage"< /em>, he said, assuring that the passing of a law would allow the implementation of this measure. "And let it not be said that this will create an inflationary spiral, when we see the inflation that we experience without salary increases, he specifies.
Reduce loads ?
In employers' organizations, beyond the observation, we think of another lever to de-emcardise France: "Efforts, companies have made, in particular for two years with the balance of power changing in sectors where it is difficult to recruit. The solution is to lower social charges, which are very high today, particularly on these low salaries", argues Grégory Blanvillain, president of the CPME of the ;rsquo;Hérault. Who specifies: "Raising an employee today can even be a disadvantage for him, because the difference will not be significant in the salary, while this can cause him to lose aid of the State or make it taxable.Gabriel Attal, before the Assembly, quantified this argument. "To increase by 100 € the income of an employee on minimum wage, the employer will have to pay 238 € moreover. As for the employee, he will lose 39 € activity bonus and will see its CSG and social security contributions increase by 26 €". CQFD ?
Not for Serge Ragazzacci who fears that these social security contributions will be hit, "and that the Social Security hole will be further dug . This explains the poverty of the discourse on health", he quips. He would have preferred that the Prime Minister launch a reflection to better distribute the wealth produced in France. Gabriel Attal, with his general policy speech, at least allows the social debate to be maintained.
Controversy over social housing
Other subject carried by Gabriel Attal and which triggeredé strong reactions, his announcements on housing and particularly his choice to integrate intermediate housing allocated to the "upper& ;quot; in the obligatory quota of 25% of HLM assigned; to the municipalities. Many see this as an unraveling of this SRU law. "Intermediate rental housing does not have a social vocation, it is housing assisted by the ;state, but to accommodate the upper middle class: there is no allocation commission, no control of tenants' resources, no obligation linked to ;agrave; solidarity", number Emmanuelle Cosse, president of the Social Union for Habitat.& ;nbsp;"And what does Mr. Attal do with the 2.6 million families still waiting for social housing, with the least wealthy 25% of tenants forced to wait until ;rsquo;à 60% of their income for housing ?", protests the Right to Housing association. The left also denounces, the right welcomes the proposal, formerly supported by… Nicolas Sarkozy.
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