The government spokesperson did not rule out that the candidate Emmanuel Macron proposes to condition the RSA to a minimum of activity.
© REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
The government spokesperson Gabriel Attal did not rule out on Tuesday that the candidate Emmanuel Macron proposes to condition the RSA to a minimum of activity, according to a logic of “rights, duties”, and referred to the outgoing president’s press conference on Thursday .
“The logic we carry is that of saying that duties open up rights, and not the other way around. It is not rights that open up duties”, he explained on France 2. He recalled that this logic underpinned since March 1 the “Youth Engagement Contract” system which provides support for young people in financial difficulty “provided that they complete a certain number of hours of training”.
“There is therefore this logic + rights, duties +, and obviously for the RSA it is a logic that we could follow”, he concluded, insisting on the fact that Emmanuel Macron “will present his program Thursday” during a press conference.
The active solidarity income (RSA) provides people without resources with a minimum level of income that varies according to the composition of the household. The RSA is open, under certain conditions, to people aged at least 25, as well as to young workers aged 18 to 24 if they are single parents or have a certain period of professional activity. At the end of September 2021, the number of RSA beneficiaries was estimated at 1.91 million households. The total amount committed was nearly 2.90 billion euros in the third quarter of 2021, continuing the decrease that began at the end of 2020, according to the National Family Allowance Fund.
Also asked about the announcement the day before the thaw of the index point “before the summer” for the 5.7 million public officials , Gabriel Attal responded to accusations of electoralism by defending “a measure of responsibility” and “legitimate” aimed at “protecting civil servants from inflation” which is accelerating. He confirmed that “a round of negotiations” would be launched between unions and public employers (State and local authorities). This announced increase marks a break with the wage policy conducted so far by the government, more favorable to targeted increases, while general increases have been rare for ten years.
The unions are satisfied to have won their case on a long-standing claim. But they remain cautious about the concrete translation of this measure on the payroll of the agents, in particular in the event of political alternation, and some underline the timing of the announcement, one month before the first round of the presidential election.