Laurent Berger to quit as leader of France’s biggest union

Laurent Berger, who has led France’s biggest union as it protested the government’s controversial pension reforms, is set to step down in June.

Mr Berger has led CFDT (Confédération française démocratique du travail) for 11 years and been prominent in French media in 2023 as a key inter-union spokesman in the battle against the bill.

Marylise Léon, who is currently the deputy leader of the union, will replace him.

The change comes less than a month after France’s second biggest union, the CGT, elected Sophie Binet to be the first female leader in its history.

Ms Léon will not be the first female leader of the CFDT however - Nicole Notat held the position between 1992 and 2002.

‘Not a choice dictated by current events’

Mr Berger announced that he was stepping down on Wednesday (April 19) morning in an interview with Le Monde, after the decision had been made at an internal meeting.

It will not come as much of a surprise to union members, as Mr Berger announced last year that he would step down at some point during his current tenure.

“This is a well-considered decision that I have already postponed once, after discussions with my colleagues on the executive committee. It is neither a whim nor a choice dictated by current events,” said the union leader.

Mr Berger has won many plaudits from across the political spectrum during the current wave of action against the government, most notably over the pension reform bill.

He has been noted in particular for helping facilitate an extended period of inter-union action – generally rare in France – whilst maintaining the CFDT’s stance as a more moderate and reformist union.

Read more: Reignite or fizzle out? What next for France’s pension reform strikes?

‘It is never the right time’

Countering criticisms that he could weaken the trade union movement at a key moment, he said trade unionism “is coming out of this period as a winner” and that his successor Ms Léon is “capable, dynamic” and “has a strong understanding of the world of work”.

Describing the decision as being “charged with emotion,” Mr Berger added that despite the complexity of the current situation, he felt the decision could not be postponed any further.

“I am aware that this is a particular period. But who says that it won't be the same thing in October or June… In reality, I fear that we only live in special times, that it is never the right time.”

Mr Berger will still oversee the CFDT during this year’s May 1 celebrations, the run-up to which has seen the unions refuse to make contact with the government over President Emmanuel Macron’s new plan for the world of work.

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