Following the agreement signed & announced on the 26th of November(1) with the trade unions dealing with measures concerning the latter stages of careers, the Group wants to clarify some of the financial consequences of the "Part-time Seniors" measures.  
 
The provision relating to these measures is estimated at approximately 700 M€. 600 M€ will be accounted for in 2009 because it is necessary to apply a pro rata temporis as only those employees that have worked for a minimum of 15 years on the 1st of January 2010 can benefit from this latter agreement. The remainder will be accounted for in 2010 and 2011 in order to include those who become eligible by then. This provision was calculated according to the IAS 19 accounting standard which covers other long-term advantages and it is based on the full set of extra wage costs (paid wage premium during part-time work, 100% cover of pension costs, employer social charges and costs for holiday savings plans). Of the 14 000 people who are eligible over the coming 3 years, the assumption made by the Group for its calculations are that 10 000 people will adhere to this measure over the duration of the agreement.

The impact of this agreement on the Group's cash-flow is neutral after taking into account the additional recruitments.
 
This agreement does not impact the Group's financial objectives.

 
1/  See the press release dated the 26th of November.