Barthélémy Philippe // Photo credits: Xavier Duvot / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP 7:29 a.m., March 19, 2024

Civil servants are marching in the streets of France's major cities this Tuesday to demand lasting wage increases.

The latter particularly feel wronged by private sector employees.

Yet when the comparison is made, the salaries are similar.

But whether you are a private or public employee, the purchasing power of the French remains reduced by inflation.

Civil servants in the street.

In the midst of negotiations on bonuses for agents who will work during the Olympic Games, the CGT Force Ouvrière is today calling on the 5 million agents to strike for better salaries.

In particular, some believe they are less well housed than private sector employees.

However, when comparing, the situation seems similar. 

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Increases devoured by inflation

Thus, eight out of ten civil servants have a net salary between 1,500 and 3,500 euros, amounts comparable to private sector employees.

But the difference is in the prospects for development.

Gwenaëlle has been a nurse at the Robert Ballanger hospital in Aulnay-sous-Bois for 15 years.

Category A civil servant, his salary seems clearly insufficient to him. 

“I started at 1,400 euros net in 2007. Now, I am at 2,400 euros. The increase that we really felt was at the time of the Ségur de la santé. There, in fact, we had 183 euros net more for all staff. Except that inflation came very quickly behind. So, we still find ourselves at the same level" as before in terms of purchasing power, she regrets at the microphone of Europe 1.

The freezing of the civil service index point still on everyone's minds

And yet, the government has spent a lot of money to upgrade public service professions, with a budget of 19 billion euros for Ségur de la santé in 2021, then 14 billion euros over the last two years for all civil servants.

But the unions believe that this is insufficient to compensate for the freezing of the civil service index point between 2010 and 2015 and then from 2018 to 2021.