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Paris and Lyon Conservatoire Accompanists Renew Strike Action
Accompanists at France’s two leading music conservatoires have announced renewed strike action over unequal pay, working hours and stalled talks with the Culture Ministry.
Accompanists at the Paris and Lyon Conservatoires nationaux supérieurs de musique et de danse have announced a renewed strike notice for 8 October, accusing France’s Culture Ministry of breaking off negotiations over their employment conditions.
According to their representatives, the ministry cancelled an early-October meeting with unions at the last minute without explanation and postponed further discussions until 2027. Pianists and vocal coaches say the strike can be renewed until the ministry agrees to resume talks.
The dispute follows a renewable strike notice filed in February 2025 over salaries the musicians considered unacceptable given their qualifications. That notice remains in force.
Teachers at both institutions had been waiting since 2009 for a ministerial order defining recruitment and pay conditions. Their previous salary scales, dating from 2003, lacked a legal basis. For accompanists, starting pay for a full-time position was €1,331 net per month, rising to just €1,650 after seven years, with no further progression available.
An agreement reached on 14 March 2025 introduced improved salary scales for teaching staff. However, accompanists say their separate employment category continues to leave them at a substantial disadvantage.
Supported by the SAMUP and CGT-Culture unions, they are calling for a unified teaching status, salary scale and working-time framework.
In a statement supplied to Diapason, campaign representatives said the agreement maintains separate scales for professors and associate professors on one side, and assistants and accompanists on the other, with significant differences in salary ceilings and career progression.
They also said accompanists work 50% more hours than professor-category colleagues, despite often performing similar duties.
After repeated difficulties securing sustained negotiations, representatives warned that the dispute could again disrupt entrance examinations at the Paris Conservatoire in early 2027, potentially marking a third consecutive year of action affecting admissions.