France: Historic collective agreement signed for online journalism
A groundbreaking collective agreement was signed by the French unions to set social and pay standards for online journalism. Until now, the industry had no such framework since the creation of the internet. After two years of negotiations, the three unions Syndicat national des journalistes (SNJ), the SNJ-CGT, CFDT-Journalistes and the Syndicat de la presse indépendante d’information en ligne (Spiil) have secured long-overdue protections for media workers in digital journalism.
This agreement, reached during the ‘Assises internationales du journalisme’ in Tours on 13 March, introduces the first structured classification system and salary scale for Spiil members. Spiil represents 270 publishers, primarily independent press outlets.
Despite this limitation, signing this agreement marks a significant step forward in defining a social framework. It sets out specific job functions, career progression models, and minimum salaries at each level. It ensures that career progression is based on expertise, not just managerial roles, and sets a minimum freelance rate of €55 per article page, rising to €57 in April 2027. Its application from 1 September 2025 will provide crucial stability for thousands of freelancers and employed journalists.
In addition, the salary grid is the first to use inclusive language thereby recognising the true place of women in these media.
Social dialogue delivers results
Antoine Chuzeville, General Secretary of the SNJ, underscored the agreement’s impact on nearly 3,000 journalists employed by small press companies, calling it “an essential foundation for continued social dialogue.” The Co-president of Spiil, Laurent Mauriac, also highlighted the high quality of the social dialogue with the employee representatives.
Elise Descamps, General Secretary of F3C-CFDT, emphasised the importance of the agreement for freelance journalists. “It is only a first step, but for many freelancers who were paid far less, it is a major advance: they now have an enforceable text to defend their pay.” Pablo Aiquel, General Secretary of SNJ-CGT and a member of the EFJ Steering Committee, said that the next focus will be on strengthening protections for digital, audio, video, photo, and podcast freelancers.
While this new salary framework for the online press in France is a positive development, it also brings to light the precarious financial situation of these typically new and small media outlets, where journalists, both entry-level and experienced, often receive low salaries. The collective agreement will provide structure and recognition in the industry.
