Gabriel Attal tightens the screw

The Prime Minister is going to the Vosges on Friday, to a France Travail agency. Announcements are expected on unemployment insurance and the fight against social security contribution fraud, while the government seeks to make savings.

Gabriel Attal wants to return to the foundations of macronism: work, merit, the need to have rights and duties, particularly when you receive unemployment benefits or active solidarity income, the RSA. From now on, all RSA beneficiaries must register with France Travail and complete 15 hours of activity, training or internship per week. In exchange, the government promises them better support.

While this system remains much criticized, Gabriel Attal wants to show that it works and that it is not a question of stigmatizing RSA beneficiaries, but of helping them get out of welfare. For more than a year, 18 departments have been participating in an experiment and a rapid ramp-up to 47 departments was planned for this month of March. So, this Friday March 1, the tenant of Matignon wants to show that this return to activity is a priority of the government, before announcing a new reform of unemployment insurance.

New unemployment insurance reform

We do not yet know the terms of this new reform, but we have the leads. First of all, the fact of reducing the duration of compensation for job seekers seems to have been implemented. But also go a step further regarding the degression of unemployed executives, so the amount of their compensation will drop much more quickly. Also in the pipeline: review the specific regime for seniors, or even eliminate it. Moreover, on Friday morning, like almost every Friday, a meeting is held between unions and employers on the terms of unemployment insurance for seniors. They have until March 26 to reach an agreement.

But there is little doubt that the government will go much further than their proposals. The executive wants to make significant savings on the unemployment insurance system, whose debt is expected to reach more than 38 billion euros in 2027.

Strengthened fight against social security contribution fraud

The Prime Minister will also announce a strengthening of the fight against social security contribution fraud. What is mainly targeted is undeclared work, the shortfall for the State is estimated between seven and nine billion euros per year. When he was Minister of the Budget, the fight against fraud was already Gabriel Attal’s hobby horse, there he continues. It’s popular and it pays. In 2022, Bercy will recover more than 1.5 billion euros. The figures will be released today for 2023 and they are expected to be higher than the previous year. At a time when the executive is looking for 10 billion euros, there is no question of letting this money slip away.