If I become eligible for a full-rate pension during my period of paid unemployment, will I need to wait until that period has ended before I can claim my entitlements with no rate reduction?

No, you can claim your entitlements on the date of your choice, before your unemployment benefits have ended. In this case, your periods of paid unemployment will be counted toward your CRPN career up to your pension effective date. You can still continue to draw your unemployment benefits after you have claimed your pension, but the French unemployment office France Travail has rules on drawing unemployment while retired and will deduct a percentage of your CRPN pension from your unemployment benefits. Please contact CRPN to request a certificate of life-long pension entitlement (this will not show any top-ups).