The following year, he was appointed head of economic and financial issues for the administrator of the French-occupied zone of Germany, Emile Laffon.
He left local government when he was elected president of the Economic and Social Council in April 1987, succeeding Gabriel Ventejol [fr].
In June 1993, Prime Minister Édouard Balladur asked him to chair a commission of experts on structural obstacles to employment.
He recruited Patrick Devedjian, Philippe Vasseur, Michel Godet [fr], Didier Pineau-Valencienne, Claude Bébéar and Alain Minc.
Their September 1994 report suggested lower pay for low-skilled jobs and proposed the Contrat d'insertion professionnelle (CIP).