Minimum Wage in France 2026: SMIC and Construction CBAs Explained

When you post employees to France, you must comply with the French minimum wage (SMIC) and the applicable collective agreement. Your home-country wage may be higher — but that is no guarantee you meet French standards.

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Webinar excerpt: SMIC rate, which CBA applies to construction and assembly — from the WorkAdministration webinar

The SMIC in 2026

The SMIC (Salaire Minimum Interprofessionnel de Croissance) is the statutory minimum wage that applies throughout France. As of 1 June 2026, the rate is:

Overtime: applicable supplements

The standard French working week is 35 hours (1,607 hours per year). Hours beyond this are overtime and attract mandatory supplements:

A CBA may set different supplements (statutory floor 10 %); posted workers receive the supplement of the applicable French CBA. Always check the applicable sectoral or regional collective agreement.

Working hours and rest periods in France

The French Labour Code (Code du travail) sets hard limits on daily and weekly working time. When posting employees, these rules apply in full to your workers.

Paid leave and public holidays in France

French employment law grants employees — including posted workers — the right to paid leave. Entitlement accrues as follows:

• 2.5 'jours ouvrables' (working days including Saturday) per month worked
• 30 jours ouvrables = 5 weeks per full year (Code du travail L3141-3)
• A more favourable CBA arrangement takes precedence if it grants greater entitlements
• Construction companies: in France, construction workers' holiday pay runs through the regional Caisse de congés payés du BTP (CIBTP). This also applies to a foreign employer posting construction workers (Code du travail D3141-14), unless it proves that its workers have at least equivalent paid-leave rights at home for the posting period (D3141-26). Settle this before day one.

1 May: mandatory day off with premium pay

1 May (Labour Day) is a compulsory non-working day. Working on 1 May is allowed only in businesses that cannot interrupt their activity; then you pay, on top of the wage, an allowance of the same amount — double pay (Code du travail L3133-4, L3133-6). On a construction site, work normally stops on 1 May.

Other public holidays

The other ten legal public holidays (including 14 July and 11 November) are not automatically days off; the CBA or, failing that, the employer decides which holidays are not worked and whether a supplement applies (Code du travail L3133-1, L3133-3-1, L3133-3-2). Check the sectoral BTP CBA for the exact rules.

The SMIC alone is not enough: watch out for the BTP CBA

For employees in the construction sector (Bâtiment et Travaux Publics), the national BTP collective agreements apply on top of the SMIC, with regional wage grids. For manual workers these are IDCC 1596 (building, ≤ 10 employees), 1597 (building, > 10) and 1702 (civil works); ETAM and cadres have their own agreements (2609, 2614, 2420, 3212). The regional minima are usually above the SMIC per job category.

In practice: determine the work location → find the applicable regional BTP CBA → apply the CBA rate if it is higher than the SMIC.

Job grades in the BTP CBA

The BTP CBA distinguishes three categories: ouvrier (worker), ETAM (technical-administrative staff) and cadre (management). Each category has multiple grades. Consult the applicable regional CBA for the exact amounts per function.

Temporary/agency workers

Are you working with temporary workers posted to France through a staffing agency? Agency workers are entitled to the same pay as a permanent employee of the user company in the same job (Code du travail L1251-18), plus a 10 % paid-leave allowance (L1251-19) and, unless the worker has a permanent contract at home, a 10 % end-of-assignment allowance (L1251-32, L1262-2).

What is not counted as minimum wage?

Expense reimbursements for travel, accommodation and meals generally do not count as wages for comparison with the SMIC or CBA. Only the fixed wage components (hourly rate, fixed supplements) are compared.

Risk of non-compliance

An employee who receives less than the applicable minimum wage can reclaim the difference. In addition, you risk a fine of €4,000 per affected employee, €8,000 for a repeat within two years (Code du travail L8115-1, L8115-3), in the event of an inspection by the DREETS (labour inspectorate). In serious cases, the inspectorate can halt operations.

This article is based on the Code du travail and official sources (service-public.fr; as of: July 2026). It constitutes general information and not legal advice. Regulations may change; consult a specialist if in doubt.