Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

France

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (Ratification: 1953)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (Ratification: 1981)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on equality, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 100 (equal remuneration) and 111 (discrimination in employment and occupation) together.

The Committee notes the observations of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT), received on 29 August and 17 October 2025 respectively. The Committee notes the Government’s responses to these observations.

Convention No. 111 – National policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation

Articles 1(1)(a), 2 and 3(b). Prohibited grounds of discrimination. Legislation.Social origin. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that although the criterion of social origin is not one of the 26 prohibited grounds for discrimination set out in the Labour Code, it is encompassed by the criteria related to origin. In this regard, the trade union confederations, in their observations state: (1) according to the CFDT, that there is no actual implementation of the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of social origin and that it is not aware of any jurisprudence that considers that the grounds of origin include “social” origin; and (2) according to the CGT, that the addition of social origin to the prohibited grounds for discrimination is necessary and should be included in the censuses of the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). The Committee also notes that the Centre for Studies and Research on Qualifications (CEREQ) highlights, in its report of 14 May 2025 cited by the CGT, that the effect of social background on educational outcomes remains as hard-hitting as ever, with consequences for the labour market given the importance of qualifications to enter the market. In this context, while noting the information received, the Committee requests the Government to envisage, as part of a future reform of labour legislation, an explicit prohibition of “social origin” as grounds for discrimination in employment and occupation, and to keep it informed of any developments in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the manner in which discrimination on grounds of social origin is combated, including, where available, examples of jurisprudence using the grounds of “origin” to penalize discrimination on grounds of “social origin”; and (ii) any other measures taken to combat discrimination on grounds of social origin in practice.

Discrimination on grounds of race, colour or national extraction. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, within the framework of the National Plan to combat racism, antisemitism and discrimination on grounds of origin 2023–26 (PRADO), a guide to raise awareness of prevention and repression of these phenomena for members of enterprise economic and social committees (CES) was published in June 2024. Recalling the statement of the Directorate for Research, Studies and Statistics of the Ministry of Labour (DARES) that presumed origin is one of the deep roots of inequality in access to employment in the French labour market (Analysis No. 67, November 2021), the Committee notes with interest the announced launch, in autumn 2025, of multi-year widespread testing to ascertain discrimination in recruitment, systematize the testing and use it as a policy tool to combat discrimination, which, according to the Government, could eventually lead to the creation of a “National Observatory on Discrimination composed of all institutional and associative stakeholders”. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) continue to take specific measures to prevent, penalize and eliminate all forms of discrimination at work based on race, colour and national extraction (“origin” in French law); and (ii) set up systems for evaluating the results achieved in order to refine and improve the measures adopted. It requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the results of the testing organized and the follow-up given; (ii) progress made towards establishing a national observatory on discrimination; and (iii) follow-up to the recommendations of the Defender of Rights on this matter.

Convention No. 100 – Principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value

Articles 1 to 4. Gender pay gap. The Committee notes that, according to the INSEE French Economy Dashboard (published in 2025), the gender pay gap in the private sector in 2023 was 22.2 per cent (annual salary income). It was 14.2 per cent for the same working hours (full-time equivalent) in 2023, compared with 19.4 per cent in 2010 and 14.8 per cent in 2020. For comparable jobs (the same job performed in the same workplace), the full-time equivalent net pay gap was still 3.8 per cent. The General Directorate of Administration and the Public Service (DGAFP) indicates that the full-time equivalent net salary of women in the public service was on average 9.9 per cent lower than that of men in 2023, compared with 10.5 per cent in 2022 (annual report on the state of the public service, 2025 edition, page 99). Furthermore, according to a study cited by the Government in its report, for equivalent jobs, career progression and working hours, the gap remained at 2.2 per cent (the same order of magnitude as in 2014). It also notes that the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its concluding observations of October 2023, noted that the structural causes of gender inequality persist, as women continue to be over-represented in fixed-term contracts, to work more on a part-time basis than men and to be concentrated in certain professions traditionally occupied by women, which hinders the closing of the gender wage gap (E/C.12/FRA/CO/5, 30 October 2023, para. 18). The Committee requests the Government to continue to take initiatives to evaluate and analyse the gender pay gap in all economic sectors and to reduce it as quickly as possible.

Legislative developments. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in response to its previous request on this matter.

Articles 1 to 3. Application of the principle of equal remuneration.Professional equality index for women and men. Private and public sectors. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the implementation of the Professional Equality Index for Women and Men, and in particular that: (1) enterprises are making full use of the system, with 80 per cent of them having reported their Index in March 2025, compared to 77 per cent in 2024 (the Government recognizes that there is room for improvement for enterprises with 50 to 250 employees as only 73 per cent reported their Index); and (2) an analysis of the results achieved in the Index show its effectiveness (the average score rose from 88 points in 2023 and 2024 to 88.5 points in 2025). It notes the Government’s reference to the report by the High Council for Equality between Women and Men of 7 March 2024, entitled: “Wages: five years after the Index, still no equality. Proposals for improvement” (Salaires: 5 ans après l’Index, toujours pas d’égalité. Des propositions pour améliorer l’outil). In this report, the High Council, considering that despite undeniable progress the Index has not fulfilled all its promises, recommends, inter alia: (1) anticipating Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay between men and women by comparing jobs of “equal value”; (2) introducing new indicators on part-time work and low wages; (3) amending the calculation rules to avoid excessive exclusions of categories of employees; and (4) making access to labour markets for enterprises conditional upon a satisfactory result in the Index. The Committee also notes that the Defender of Rights considers that this indicator has certain limitations, including easy exemption for employers and calculation methods that may conceal discrimination. The Defender of Rights regrets that the Index does not take sufficient account of occupational segregation, highlighting that “the implementation of the principle of ‘equal pay for work of comparable value’ is one of the ways of reducing pay gaps” (reform sheet No. 35, July 2023). The Committee also notes with interest the Government’s statement that the Equality Plan 2023–2027 excludes access to public procurement for enterprises that have obtained an insufficient Index score. It also notes that this Index is bound to evolve in the near future owing to the transposition into national law, on 7 June 2026 at the latest, of Directive (EU) 2023/970 which sets out the objectives for employers and workers in both the private and public sectors with regard to pay transparency, criteria used to set them and information on pay gaps identified. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures, in collaboration with the employers’ and workers’ organizations to: (i) continue to evaluate the results achieved by enterprises and administrations further to the implementation of the systems in force aimed at applying the principle of the Convention; (ii) analyse and eliminate any obstacles met; and (iii) adopt corrective measures to improve the impact of these systems (with the goal of completely eliminating the gender pay gap). It also requests the Government to provide information on the transposition of Directive (EU) 2023/970 into national law and on its implementation. 

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Labour Code requires that job classification criteria and evaluation methods be established in accordance with the principle of equal pay for the same work or work of equal value (sections L3221-4 and L3221-6). In addition, pursuant to section L2241-1, organizations bound by a branch agreement or otherwise by occupational agreements are required to meet at least once every five years to examine the need to revise these classifications. This requirement was recalled by the social partners in the framework of the national interoccupational agreement of 10 February 2023 and then included in section 1 of Act No. 2023-1107 of 29 November 2023 transposing this agreement. The Committee also notes that, according to figures transmitted by the Government, as of 26 September 2025, only 72 of the 171 occupational branches overseen by the General Directorate of Labour, that is 42 per cent, had concluded an agreement on classifications less than five years prior. The Committee also notes the observations of the CGT that the characteristics of work associated with women tend to be overlooked or disregarded in job classifications. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to: (i) ensure that, in accordance with the above-mentioned provisions of the Labour Code, job classifications in branch agreements or occupational agreements are reviewed at regular intervals; and (ii) promote objective job evaluation among the employers’ and workers’ organizations, administrations and bodies or persons concerned. It requests the Government to provide information in this regard.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.