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The politics of in-work benefits: The case of the ‘active income of solidarity’ in France

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French Politics Aims and scope

Abstract

In-work benefits have been introduced in a number of Bismarckian welfare regimes in a context of austerity despite being targeted at politically weak constituents and representing a deviation from prevailing welfare institutions. This article addresses this puzzle by looking at the introduction in 2008 of an in-work benefit scheme in France, the Active Income of Solidarity. The analysis reveals that this reform was the result of a cross-cutting alliance between the conservative party and employers, as well as parts of the socialist party and the union movement. The alliance was possible thanks to actors’ multiple interpretations of the reform. The reform was difficult to oppose given its support by experts and public opinion and because it entailed an increase in revenues for low-income workers.

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Notes

  1. Specifically, representatives from the three main French trade unions (CGT and CFDT) at both the confederal and federal levels and from all three employers’ organizations in France (MEDEF, PRISME, CGPME) were interviewed to determine their assessment and position towards the RSA reform. Two civil servants, based in the employment and work ministries, were also interviewed to investigate their readings of the reform and their analysis of the political logic that underpinned it.

  2. The Article 1 of the Law on the RSA no. 2008-1249 states: ‘It guarantees to all individuals, whether they are able or not to work, to receive a minimum income and to see their resources increase when the revenues they derive from work rise. The recipient of the Active Income of Solidarity has a right to a social and professional help aimed to facilitate his or her sustainable return to work’ (Loi n°. 2008-1249).

  3. Source: Caisse d’Allocation Familiale Website, www.caf.fr/wps/portal/particuliers/catalogue/metropole/rsa, accessed 31 February 2009.

  4. See the French Ministry for Social Affairs and Health: www.social-sante.gouv.fr/le-rsa,2302/le-revenu-de-solidarite-active,2279/, last accessed August 2011.

  5. Title 1, Article 1 of the law 88-1088 on the RMI: ‘Any persons living in France, which revenues do not reach a minimum income level, and who commits to participation in certain activities required for his professional insertion, has a right to a minimum income of insertion’.

  6. In 2000, only half of the RMI recipients were covered by an ‘insertion contract’ (Delors and Dolle, 2009).

  7. I would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for stressing the relevance of Sarkozy’s broader electoral and programmatic strategy for understanding the RSA reform.

  8. I would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for this point.

  9. See www.france-politique.fr/elections-legislatives-1978.htm for 1978 and www.france-politique.fr/elections-legislatives-2007.htm for 2007.

  10. See the interventions by Christophe Sirugue (socialist party) on the 5 September 2008 and by Hervé Mariton (UMP) on the 25 September 2008 (Gomel and Serverin, 2009, pp. 22, 23).

  11. See, for instance, the interview of Claude gueant at: www.francesoir.fr/actualite/societe/entretien-claude-gueant-secretaire-general-l%E2%80%99elysee-29574.html.

  12. OECD statistics Website, section on temporary employment as percentage of total employment.

  13. The five unions are the CGT, the CFDT, the CFTC, the CFE–CGC and FO. Note that the 2008 Law on representativeness will for the first time alter this state of affairs. By 2012, only unions that are representative, as determined in professional elections, will be able to sign agreements with employers. This will fundamentally alter the set of incentives of unions and some unions may lose their representative status.

  14. Source: EIRO Website, http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/country/france_1.htm.

  15. Du côté des étudiants (Unef, Confédération étudiante, Fage), on considère au contraire que les conditions de l’extension du RSA sont trop restrictives. Source: www.republicain-lorrain.fr/fr/permalien/article.html?iurweb=2031455.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Giulano Bonoli, Paolo Graziano, Louisa Acciari and the participants of the Localise workshop on ‘Integrated Employment and Activation Policies’ held in Milan in August 2012 for comments on previous versions of this article. Two anonymous reviewers also provided helpful comments and constructive criticisms on this article. Finally, I would like to thank representatives from unions and employers’ organizations, as well as civil servants from the employment and work ministries for accepting to be interviewed.

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Vlandas, T. The politics of in-work benefits: The case of the ‘active income of solidarity’ in France. Fr Polit 11, 117–142 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/fp.2013.6

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