Elizabeth Bourne confirms future index increase for government employees

The new Prime Minister of France confirms that civil servants will benefit from a general increase in the civil service index in 2022. Indeed, this topic will become part of the bill on finance with amendments on purchasing power, which the National Assembly will consider as a priority after the elections on June 12 and 19. While the high cost of living is a strong thesis of this election year, the level of pay for civil servants is also a way for the executive branch to step on the heels of its opponents on the left.

The New People’s Environmental and Social Union (Nupes), a coalition created on the initiative of Jean-Luc Melenchon La France insoumise for legislative elections, also promises to re-evaluate the treatment of civil servants and unfreeze the points index. Nevertheless, it was in March that Minister Amelie de Montchalin, who was then in charge of the civil service, protecting herself from any ulterior motives of the voter, promised a general measure for public officials until the summer. A gesture justified, as she explained, by strong and prolonged inflation.

After the re-election of the President of the Republic in April, government spokesman Gabriel Attal confirmed on May 11 that the unfreezing of the index would indeed be part of the bill on «purchasing power». This tool, which serves as the basis for calculating the salaries of civil servants, has not been overestimated since 2010. With one exception: in 2016, President Francois Hollande decided on a 1.2% surcharge.

Throughout Emmanuel Macron’s first term, the constant doctrine was «the supposed rejection of the general index increase practiced during the previous five-year terms, measures that are quite unfair and very expensive». A total increase of 1% would amount to expenses of 2 billion euros. Apparently, today the current authorities still decided on such expenses.