Paris (France) (AFP) – The general secretary of the CGT Sophie Binet called on Wednesday the government to “considerably strengthen” and to include “as quickly as possible” on the agenda of the National Assembly the bill against the high cost of living overseas, passed last year in the Senate.

Published on: 04/29/2026 - 5:11 p.m.

Referring to a "structural crisis situation" in the overseas territories, where the prices of food products are up to 40% higher than in France, Ms. Binet criticized the government which "allows itself to bury the cost of living bill, which already did not include much."

“This bill must be placed on the parliamentary agenda as quickly as possible and its content must be considerably strengthened to finally act on the central points,” she said during a press conference at the headquarters of the trade union center.

Among the priorities cited by Ms. Binet are social convergence in Mayotte, "the application of all collective agreements in overseas territories", the "capping of margins and dismantling of oligopolies", as well as conditionality of public aid to businesses.

Initiated by former minister Manuel Valls and adopted without enthusiasm in October 2025 by the Senate, which considered it too timid, the text has still not been tabled in the National Assembly.

In February, Overseas Minister Naïma Moutchou indicated that the examination of the text was postponed because it had to “be strengthened even more”. She had mentioned an examination in “June-July”, or even at the start of the parliamentary term in September.

Presented as an "emergency" by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, the fight against the high cost of living is a priority for residents of overseas territories and was at the heart of the demonstrations which shook Martinique in the fall of 2024.

According to INSEE, the price gap for food products can reach 42% between overseas departments and regions and mainland France.

This press conference marked the launch of a "common union base for coordinated action" between the CGT and its confederations of Martinique, Reunion and Mayotte, which denounce a "continuity of colonial relations of economic, social and territorial denunciation".

Trade union organizations point out in particular the weight of large groups, citing the Martinican GBH present in around ten overseas territories via 300 subsidiaries or the public works company Colas, a subsidiary of Bouygues, very present in Mayotte. They are calling for the compulsory creation of group committees in these companies.

© 2026 AFP

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