The new Minister of Labor and Employment, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, arrives at the first council of ministers of the Barnier government, in Paris, on September 23, 2024. JULIEN MUGUET FOR “LE MONDE”
Within a government clearly leaning to the right, she is one of the rare personalities displaying a social-democratic sensibility. A former member of the Socialist Party and a Macronist from the very beginning, the new Minister of Labor, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, sought to make her mark – cautiously – on Monday, September 23, at the handover ceremony with her predecessor Catherine Vautrin, who became Minister of Partnership with the Territories and Decentralization.
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To express her singularity while being careful not to offend anyone, the former Paris MP first praised the character « indispensable » of the « efforts » agreed since “seven years” to achieve full employment. This « bataille » will continue, said Ms. Panosyan-Bouvet, but she “must not be the only priority”because that would be to ignore the “individual and subjective reality” of work, according to the minister. Such statements confirm the position that was already hers when she sat on the benches of the National Assembly, from June 2022 until today: wanting to pay more attention to the daily lives of employees when they are at their jobs, she thinks that the unemployment figures, even if improving, are not enough to combat the extreme right. “Work is a place where self-esteem and social bonds are built. It is the means to a dignified and decent life.”she stressed.
Ms. Panosyan-Bouvet also distinguished herself by demonstrating the desire “to embody a change of method” towards intermediary bodies, which have been mistreated since Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017. “I believe in social democracy and in the legitimacy of civil society and social partners”she assured. And added: “The ties have sometimes become strained in recent years. I will work to restore and consolidate them.” For her, “compromise is not compromise”. A short sentence almost identical to the one that Laurent Berger, former general secretary of the CFDT, pronounced in an interview with the weekly The 1dated September 4. The Minister of Labor is thus using phraseology that is likely to sound pleasant to the ears of union leaders, particularly those who are presented as “reformists.”
« Relations constructives »
Without going into details, Ms Panosyan-Bouvet outlined her roadmap for the coming weeks. First objective: work “must pay”. “The minimum wage can be an entry-level salary into working life but should not be a lifetime salary”she added.
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