2024-01-19 17:03:46
Published on Jan 19, 2024 at 2:12 p.m.Updated Jan 19, 2024 at 6:03 p.m.
There is the law and there are the facts. On the immigration law, the law will be declared next week by the Constitutional Council. The “Our public services” collective looked at the concrete consequences that the introduction of the obligation of a residence of at least five years or two and a half years of activity would have to trigger the almost all family benefits and housing allowances for non-European foreigners which is provided for by this text voted at the end of last year.
This think tank of civil servants points out the differences in treatment that this would lead to in several typical cases. There is, for example, that of colleagues Yasmine and Saba, 27 years old, French and Eritrean respectively, both single mothers of a one-year-old child. Saba found a part-time job as a caregiver when she arrived in France and like Yasmine, she has been working for two years and is paid the minimum wage.
A loss of 970 euros of income
IF the measures included in the immigration law apply, Yasmine, who like Saba receives 651 euros net salary, will continue to receive 970 euros in social assistance: an activity bonus of 327 euros, a family support allowance of 123 euros, a childcare benefit of 182 euros and a housing allowance of 338 euros. Saba will no longer be entitled to any assistance until she can prove 30 months of activity.
The scenario is similar if we take two colleagues employed in catering with a net salary of 912 euros net per month, once the 227 euros in social security contributions are deducted. While Matthieu, French, will continue to receive an activity bonus of 393 euros and 112 euros in housing allowance, Amar, Egyptian, who arrived in France in 2023, will see his income reduced by these approximately 500 euros per month. Please note that the removal of the activity bonus will apply even if Amar has a French spouse or has been in France for a long time.
Even more glaring inequality between children
The inequality of treatment is even more glaring when we look at the situation of children, of different nationalities, like Antoine and Brian, but also French like Sofia who has two French parents and Ismaël, who is not in that case.
These examples were not chosen at random. They illustrate the economic estimation of the effects of the law carried out by four researchers, Elvire Guillaud and Muriel Pucci, from the University of Paris 1, Antoine Math from IRES and Michaël Zemmour, from the University of Lyon 2, which received much media attention. during the pension reform.
From 110,000 to 700,000 people affected
According to their figures, which were the subject of a contribution to the Constitutional Council, the reform as it stands would impact 110,000 people, taking into account only households where both the head of the family and his or her spouse are non-European foreigners. By integrating households in which only one member is a recently arrived non-European foreigner, even 700,000 people would be affected.
The study also underlines the fact that restrictions on social assistance will have a strong impact on children: it mentions up to 210,000 affected but it is pointed out that “the actual figure is undoubtedly closer to the bottom than the top of this range” which stands at 31,000.
Sharp increase in poverty and its intensity
In their contribution, the economists point out the strong impact of the law on poverty in general with a rate of people whose income is less than 60% of the median standard of living which would increase from 58% to almost 66% and a rate of extreme poverty (40% of median income) which would increase from 22% to 39%. These rates would increase for children alone from 72% to 81% for poverty and from less than 27% to 53% for the rate of extreme poverty.
As for the intensity of poverty, it would increase significantly since half of poor people would live with an income per consumption unit of less than 600 euros compared to 810 euros before the reform.
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