What would happen if, this time, the government was going too far? Determined that the French work more to produce more wealth, the public finance recovery plan presented by François Bayrou opens an explosive debate. After the speech of the Head of Government, on Tuesday, July 15, the Minister of Labor and Employment, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, mentioned the possibility of monetizing the fifth week of paid vacations as a “track” that will be studied with social partners.
Very quickly, the criticism hastened: the leader of the CFDT, Marylise Léon, even classified this idea in “The Horrenores Museum” of Prime Minister’s ads. Employees interviewed by BFM Business and BFMTV are also shared on the subject, some prefer to rest when others see a gain in purchasing power.
It is already possible to monetize RTT
However, it is far from being the first time that the Government has approached the rest days of the employees. Since 2022, companies can, optionally, offer the purchase of RTT days to their employees, for an increase in at least 25% of the salary. In fact, it is a legacy of Nicolas Sarkozy, who, to encourage the French to “work more to win more,” he had already established this device shortly after his election to the Presidency of the Republic in 2007. This monetization, highly criticized by the left, had undoubtedly buried by François Hollande.
With Emmanuel Macron in the Elysée, the perception of work is discussed again in a liberal logic, with “a speech centered on the economy and the revival of the activity instead of the prism of mental health, the law of employees in terms of risk prevention, such as hygiene and business safety,” analyzes me anne leleu-amummer, a labor law specialized in labor law.
From the point of view of companies, the monetization of the RTT and, perhaps, of the fifth week of paid license would be a good idea: “As a lawyer for employers, some are reluctant to accept vacations and prefer to pay them to have more employees in the field to produce, work,” he entrusts Anne Leleu-Summer.
Is the monetization of the paid license constitutional?
However: “Rest is not a gift, it is not an advantage. The paid license is not something exceptional or extraordinary, this participates in the good health of the employee” “, on the other hand, Meíric Rocheblave, a lawyer specialized in labor law that reminds BFM businesses that the monetization of the paid vacation is until today an exception, very fractured by law.
“The most widespread case is when the employment contract is broken and the employee did not have time to benefit from his entire license,” he quotes as an example. In this specific case, this is the amount paid under the balance of any account. Another exception: the time savings account (CET). “This device provides the monetization of the paid license, but beyond five weeks, it details the lawyer. Beyond five weeks, all other types of license cannot be raised because they are not considered a counterpart of work.”
But from there to allow the monetization of the fifth week of paid license, it is likely that the red lines will be crossed according to me, Esric Rocheblave.
Taking into account that “the paid license must be taken by definition and not sold”, the lawyer specialized in labor law even asks about the constitutionality of monetization proposed by Minister Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet. Questioned by BFM Business, Pierre-Yves Gahdoun, Professor of Public Law at the University of Montpellier and specialist in constitutional law of the economy, emphasizes that “the five weeks of paid vacations are not a constitutional principle.”
In addition, if “the right to health is also one of the constitutional principles”, this specialist does not believe in questioning the monetization of the fifth week of paid vacation provided by the Government. And for a good reason: “A European directive provides at least four weeks of vacation paid per year, is the minimum union,” recalls Pierre-Yves Gahdoun.
France in contradiction with Europe on labor law
But while mental health was decreed as the great national cause of 2025 by former prime minister and ephemeral prime minister Michel Barnier, the political line of the government of François Bayrou detonates. As he moved towards the monetization of the fifth week of paid license, France is not connected to the European Union either.
Although French law does not allow employees to update with their vacations if they get sick during their vacations, European legislation establishes that illness license employees during their vacation can reach their days of paid license later. Therefore, the European Commission decided, on June 18, to bring to France giving two months to comply with European law.
Source: BFM TV
