The Head of State, candidate for his succession, is trying to seduce the left-wing electorate 10 days before the second round of the presidential election. He and his lieutenants advance solidarity with the source to ensure that Emmanuel Macron remains a follower of at the same time despite the support which is multiplying on the right of the chessboard. But behind the elements of language, we look for outlines in vain.
With the approach of the second round of the presidential election against Marine Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron must give pledges of confidence to readers on the left to support his re-election against the extreme right. This project has a name: solidarity at the source. Emmanuel Macron has never lost his left leg. Solidarity with the source means putting an end to a form of small social scandal. This concerns 20 million French people. We are going to eliminate the non-use of social benefits, we are going to simplify things defended Monday on France Info the Minister of Health Olivier Vran. The proposal of solidarity at the source, which will make it possible to pay the social aid to which the French are automatically entitled, will reduce the social divide in the country, supported government spokesman Gabriel Attal. But behind the elements of language, it is difficult to draw the contours of this reform presented as major.
Already the day after the campaign launch press conference in mid-March, someone close to the Head of State told MoneyVox that he had no idea what form this solidarity with the source would take. Relaunched on Wednesday, he does not know more while the campaign teams did not respond to our request for clarification. So let’s go back to the beginning.
Unclaimed aid and the fight against fraud
Since the 2017 campaign, Emmanuel Macron wants to pay the RSA, the activity bonus, housing aid or even family allowances at source on the model of withholding at source for income tax and in the extension of the payment of housing aid in real time since 2021. This project is based on an observation: a large proportion of French people do not ask for aid to which they have the right. Each year, more than 10 billion euros in social assistance would not be claimed.
Social organizations know who can claim these rights, we will know how to pay them to the source, said the President of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand. In this way, the Head of State also hopes to fight more effectively against fraud to offset the additional cost induced by the payment of aid to those who are not claiming it today.
Is this reform realistic?
If the Covid has hampered the actions of the government in the field, it also has a good back. Technically, the implementation is complex. It is a head-height measure that will continue the simplification efforts started in 2017, underlines MoneyVox LREM senator Franois Patriat. According to him, solidarity with the source will be one of the first projects committed in the event of re-election, in particular by designating very quickly the organization which will bring together social rights and receive the general declaration.
This is a good proposal to combat non-recourse and strengthen the efficiency of the administration, welcomes Daniel Verger, head of studies and research at Secours Catholique. The idea is beautiful but it is a construction site, it will not be done overnight, abounds Julien Damon, sociologist and Sciences Po teacher on France Info.
How to implement it?
The administrative simplification law voted under Emmanuel Macron is a starting point for the fluidity of exchanges between the various public services. Sending the energy check by post, without any formalities, also proves that the tools exist.
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Social aid cannot be condensed into a single aid, warns Daniel Verger. But mergers are possible and we are in favor of a single social file based on the model of the shared medical file. A lot of information is already available, it is just necessary to ensure that the individual can access his file to modify it or to refuse assistance.
On Form, avoid any consideration as Emmanuel Macron proposes for the RSA, insists Daniel Verger. When a taxpayer benefits from a tax deduction, he must meet the criteria but must do nothing in exchange, explains the Catholic Relief specialist.
There is also the problem of different allocation criteria when taxes can rely on the reference taxable income (RFR). In a study of November 2021, the Council of State pleaded for a harmonization of the resource bases. This means that the reference year and the scale of income used to define who is eligible must be the same: today certain aid is paid on the basis of the income of the current year (housing) when others require going back two years (family quotient for example). The ambition of candidate Macron is unambiguous to switch to eligibility calculated on the basis of income for the current year.
Other size pick: the system must be effective as soon as it is put in place at the risk of creating very difficult social situations for the affected beneficiaries.
APL, alloc’, RSA… Discover all the social aid to which you are entitled
What solutions today?
Among the avenues explored by the public authorities to fight against non-use, the creation of free simulators, the best known of which, accessible on the website mesdroitssociaux.gouv.fr, allows citizens to check their eligibility for 58 aid in less than 15 minutes.
More recently, the 1jeune1solution.gouv.fr simulator helps people under 30 find the social benefits to which they are entitled, whether it is housing, buying an electric bike or spending their permit. In total, more than 400 aids are listed there.