MEDEF holds general assembly

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In January 2003, France's MEDEF employers' confederation held its general assembly. Ernest-Antoine Seillière, who was re-elected as chair for another three years, set out the organisation's main lines of action for the future. The event was notable for the unprecedented presence of the Prime Minister.

The Movement of French Enterprises (Mouvement des entreprises de France, MEDEF), France's main employers' confederation, held its statutory general assembly in Tours on 14 January 2003, almost exactly one year after it held an extraordinary congress mainly aimed at addressing the candidates for the 2002 national presidential election (FR0202103N). On this occasion, Ernest-Antoine Seillière, the chair of MEDEF, delivered an important speech in which he outlined MEDEF's work over recent years and the principal areas on which its future action would focus.

Mr Seillière looked back at the transformation of the National Council of French Employers (Conseil national du patronat français, CNPF) into MEDEF in 1998 (FR9811140F), the setting up of MEDEF branches across the country, the changes to its internal organisation and the objective of representing companies of all sizes - all with the desire to group employers together and mobilise against the previous Socialist-led government's 'absurd measures dictated by an obsolete ideology'. He hailed the contribution in this area made by his former deputy, Denis Kessler, who has since left MEDEF to head a large reinsurance company.

The MEDEF chair welcomed the presence at the assembly of the Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin - the first time in the history of CNPF/MEDEF that the head of a French government had attended.

Mr Seillière's urgent priority is to create the conditions for 'keeping and attracting talent and capital in our country', in the overall context of rapid change, some of which, such as the enlargement of the European Union to central and eastern European countries, he deemed very positive. However, he called on the government to move more quickly in the area of economic and social reform. He wanted the current conservative government to return work and the 'entrepreneurial spirit' to their rightful place in society 'after years of fallacious propaganda promoting leisure', and to relaunch social dialogue again rather than produce legislation and regulations. He saw this reinvigorated social dialogue as tackling a number of different domains, following the paths taken in recent years by the 'industrial relations overhaul' project launched by MEDEF (FR0002143F). This involved talks and in some cases agreements between the social partners on unemployment insurance (FR0301106F and FR0101114F), vocational training (FR0302104N), work-related accidents/occupational illnesses (FR0101116N), and social protection/pensions (FR0102134F). The MEDEF chair now seeks 'the second phase' of the industrial relations overhaul programme.

In relation to the health service and family policy, Mr Seillière restated his demand for a new structure for the system in which the roles of the social partners and the state are more clearly laid out, and he ruled out MEDEF's return to the system's jointly-run governing bodies until this reform had taken place (FR0201103F). In terms of pensions, only days before a government's statement on the issue (FR0212104F), the MEDEF president advocated a 'capitalised' or funded scheme to top up the current system based on the principles of 'pay-as-you-go' and 'intergenerational solidarity'.

On the role and actions of public authorities and the state, Mr Seillière invited the current government to let the nation's economy 'off its leash': first by distinguishing the responsibility of employers and social dialogue for wages from incomes policy, which he felt was the responsibility of the authorities; then by reducing taxation on businesses and wealth; and lastly by ensuring that public services are still available if strike action is taken.

Mr Seillière explicitly outlined MEDEF's ambition to be a major actor in 'civil society', and his willingness to take part in the great debates taking place in French society on issues such as sustainable development, industrial risk and ethical behaviour in the marketplace.

During the assembly, MEDEF elected its national executive bodies, and Mr Seillière won the poll for another three-year term as chair with 98% of the vote.

The presence of Prime Minister Raffarin at the assembly provoked a number of comments in the media, some of which were highly critical.