On October 5, at the Alpes-Maritimes Departmental Hotel, Charles Ange Ginésy and Éric Ciotti held a press conference about the “exemplary results” of their policy surrounding the active solidarity income (RSA).
The future “full employment” law and France Travail (currently Pôle Emploi), which is still being debated this week in the National Assembly, are causing concern for the Alpes-Maritimes department. It aims for an unemployment rate of 5% by 2027 compared to the current 7% and “should enable those most distant from employment to return to work.” Notably, it plans to build a “France Travail network,” which will bring together the France Travail operator, the State, local authorities, local missions, and Cap Emploi.
However, the right fears a recentralization of the RSA policy. The president of the Alpes-Maritimes department, Charles Ange Ginésy, is clear that he does not want to see the RSA recentralized because the departmental management is already achieving very good results.
He is pleased with, among other things, the swift care of beneficiaries as soon as they enter this system in the region. The Alpes-Maritimes take about two weeks to receive a person who has just signed up for the RSA, compared to nearly 100 days on a national level. This reception is conducted to place beneficiaries in an integration pathway.
As a result, in 2022, the department had 22,000 returns to employment, meaning that more than two out of three Maralpin beneficiaries leave the system in less than a year.
Are Anti-Fraud Measures Against RSA Weakened?
The department also highlights having already implemented some measures planned by this bill. This is the case with automatic registration on the Pôle Emploi job seekers list as soon as one signs up for the RSA and the generalization of the “commitment contract.”
However, one measure does not pass at all with the Department. Entitled “suspension-remobilization,” it would allow a beneficiary whose rights have been temporarily suspended for non-compliance with their commitment contract to receive a retroactive payment as soon as they once again meet their commitments.
Charles Ange Ginésy laments consequences that would be “regrettable.” The department estimated 7 million euros for 2022 as the amount for these retroactive payments. Besides these additional expenses, it is the idea itself that is not appealing, synonymous with a “consequence-less sanction potentially demobilizing some beneficiaries.”
“The tools that allow better respect for rights and duties risk being weakened by this law,” regrets Éric Ciotti. Fighting against RSA fraud is his core battle, and has been for many years already. In 2012, the first French anti-fraud brigade for RSA was set up in the Alpes-Maritimes.
In 2022, 13,000 allocation suspensions were pronounced for non-compliance with the duties of beneficiaries within the department.
15 Mandatory Hours of Activity to Receive RSA
Not everything is concerning in this bill, as the head of the LR is pleased with the adoption of the amendment proposed by his camp and supported by the presidential majority in the National Assembly on September 28. This article 2, one of the most criticized by leftist groups and unions, calls for 15 mandatory hours of activities per week for RSA beneficiaries.
This duration could be reduced based on the beneficiary’s individual situation. However, only those encountering difficulties related to their health status, disability, invalidity, or isolated parents without a childcare solution for a young child can be totally exempt from this obligation.
“It’s a change of framework; given the rights offered to people in difficulty, we also pose the requirement and necessity of duties in terms of activities. For me, the RSA should be a very brief period that allows a return to employment,” explains the deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes.
The department allocates 15% of its RSA budget to integration actions, amounting to a budget of 21 million euros in 2022. The returns to employment generated by these measures lead to a decrease in the number of beneficiaries by 19% between December 2021 and July 2023. “We need to go even further. That’s why we support all measures that will allow a return to the working world through activity,” continues Éric Ciotti.
