Inclusion of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees

The NSG reported that the French government’s approach to migration has continued to increase in severity, with an ever-greater focus on security and a marginalisation of humanitarian concerns. French CSOs have warned of a further deterioration in access to asylum in 2022 following the 2018 Asylum and Immigration Law. In November 2022, the Ministry of the Interior published a circular to prefects to reinforce the obligation to leave France (OQTF). This circular called for the reinforcement of detention facilities, introduced the obligation to leave France for all irregular foreign nationals, suspended social rights and benefits for those people affected by an ongoing OQTF procedure and encouraged the use of re-entry bans. The new rules also require that authorities check the legal and administrative situation of people housed in emergency shelters.[1] The NSG criticised these measures as a radicalisation of repressive practices and noted that the indiscriminate use of OQTFs without examining individual situations is contrary to the principle of the rule of law and to basic human rights. The new rules reinforce the already precarious situation of many people subjected to OQTF procedures by totally removing any access to legal work and accommodation. The NSG reported that these changes were exacerbated by the severe inadequacy of reception facilities for refugees and asylum seekers, due both to a lack of state provision and to authorities’ obstructions of civil society action. For example, Calais officials refused to allow asylum seekers access to meal distribution, sanitary facilities and other services. The humanitarian ship Ocean-Viking, which had saved 230 migrants in the Mediterranean, was only allowed to dock at the Toulon naval base – a military zone in which authorities were subject to fewer legal obligations, allowing them to detain people for several days in precarious conditions without cause. Finally, a new Asylum and Immigration bill is currently being discussed by the French Parliament as of October 2023, having been introduced in February of the same year. CSOs have complained about a lack of consultation and engagement with civil society during the process to draft the legislation.[2]

Education, training and lifelong learning

The transformation of vocational high schools started in 2018 and continued in 2022. Around 650,000 pupils are enrolled in the schools, which offer training with companies, along with generalised education. In 2022, the government reformed these schools, reducing the proportion of general courses and increasing the number of hours spent training at companies. The justification of this reform centred on boosting the employability of young people. However, CSOs criticised these changes severely, noting that many young people are forced to enrol in vocational high schools because they faced difficulties at school. A reduction in general education courses reduces these pupils’ future access to higher and lifelong education, which is vital for adapting to changes in skills required by the modern labour market and a changing society. CSOs expect that this reform will increase the already significant inequality of educational outcomes for young people.[3]

Good Practice: Cooperation between Léon Tolstoï school Le Mans and la Ligue de l’enseignement

The Léon Tolstoï school, located in Le Mans, included the local chapter of la Ligue de l’enseignement in its board of governors, giving rise to an effective and productive relationship. La Ligue has helped the school set up several schemes, such as an after-school homework club to help pupils finish their homework. La Ligue also organised training schemes for volunteers, teachers and teaching assistants. Finally, la Ligue encouraged the school to adopt an “empowerment measure”, which allows pupils to replace a sanction such as a punishment or an exclusion with time spent volunteering with an association. The collaboration with and support from the CSO have allowed the school to explore and experiment with different didactic methods.[4]

Youth unemployment

In 2022, youth unemployment fell to 11.6%, 0.7 percentage points below its pre-Covid (2019) level. This represents a continuation of the post-2015 trend of increasing employment and decreasing unemployment amongst young French people, which was interrupted only by the Covid-19 pandemic.[5] In March 2022, the French government announced the creation of the youth commitment contract (YCC), a contract aimed at people aged 19-25 not in education, employment or training who are having trouble finding employment. The YCC provides these young people with individual and intensive job-seeking support. The government also assigned €10 million to link the YCC with the national Civic Service, specifically with regards to training and tutoring during the period of the Service.[6] However, the NSG raised concerns about this link. The CSOs involved in the implementation of the Civic Service may not have the capacities to act as an employment service, so it may lose its focus as an experience in civic commitment for young people, the NSG said. Furthermore, the NSG noted that Civic Service is mainly undertaken by young people who are already involved in some sort of professional insertion programme, meaning they are not the intended target of YCC. Finally, the NSG mentioned the dissemination of best practices in the inclusion of young people in the labour market as part of the YCC, which has successfully allowed actors in the field to learn from one another.

Another active labour market policy aimed at young people is apprenticeship contracts. Around 37,000 apprenticeship contracts were signed in 2022, a 14% increase from 2021.[7] This increase is largely due to the Skills Investment Plan, which has allowed for greater access to these contracts, as well as better targeting and inclusion measures.[8] However, the NSG raised concerns about the liberalisation of apprenticeships, which has allowed non-specialised actors to become apprentice training centres. This means that apprenticeships no longer guarantee high-quality training.

[1] Ministry of the Interior (2022), Circular letter related to reinforcing the obligation to leave France: http://www.gisti.org/IMG/pdf/circ_2022-11-17.pdf

[2] VoxPublic (2022), Around twenty groups and associations protested in front of the National Assembly against the bill on asylum and immigration: https://www.voxpublic.org/Une-vingtaine-de-collectifs-et-d-associations-devant-l-Assemblee-nationale-pour.html?lang=fr

[3] SUD éducation (2022), The inter-union CGT, FSU, UNSA, SNALC, SUD Éducation, CNT mobilized at all levels against the proposed reform of professional high schools – Press release: https://www.sudeducation.org/communiques/lintersyndicale-cgt-fsu-unsa-snalc-sud-education-cnt-mobilisee-a-tous-les-niveaux-contre-le-projet-de-reforme-des-lycees-pros/

[4] La Ligue de l’Enseignement (2023), La Ligue 72 and Léon Tolstoï school, a “rich and natural” partnership: https://www.laligue.media/article/entre-la-ligue-72-et-le-college-leon-tolstoi-un-partenariat-riche-et-naturel

[5] National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (2023), After a peak due to the pandemic, the percentage of NEETs has begun to decline: https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/6686184

[6] Ministry of Labour, Employment and Economic Integration (2022), Youth Commitment Contract: https://travail-emploi.gouv.fr/emploi-et-insertion/mesures-jeunes/contrat-engagement-jeune/

[7] Ministry of Labour, Employment and Economic Integration (2023), The data on apprenticeships in 2022: https://www.alternance.emploi.gouv.fr/actualites/les-chiffres-de-lapprentissage-en-2022

[8] Ministry of Labour, Employment and Economic Integration (2022), Best Practices under the Skills Investment Plan: https://travail-emploi.gouv.fr/le-ministere-en-action/pic/article/les-meilleures-pratiques-du-pic-guides-de-capitalisation

The new Occupational Health Measure, passed in mid-2021, came into effect in March 2022. Most notably, it amended the Labour Code’s provisions on sexual harassment to bring them in line with the definition provided by Penal Code. This means that sexist comments or sexist behaviour may now constitute sexual harassment in the workplace, if such comments or behaviour are coordinated or repeated. The amendments also strengthened occupational health prevention by making employers more accountable, ensuring that works councils are actively involved in the prevention of risks, and widening the mandate of compulsory occupational health services.[1]

A less positive development was the passing of the “Labour Market” law in November 2022, the first stage of a reform of unemployment insurance and other employment programmes that has the aim of achieving full employment by 2027. This reform, which was widely criticised by unions, tightens access to unemployment insurance by adjusting unemployment benefits according to the state of the labour market, for instance reducing them if unemployment decreases. If a person leaves a job or turns down a permanent contract, their benefits are terminated.[2] CSOs denounced the false assumption underlying these reforms that unemployed people refuse to work in order to profit from unemployment insurance. Only 38% of unemployment insurance beneficiaries receive more than €960 a month, a figure just below the poverty line. Half receive less than €34 a day. According to data from the National Employment Service, only 10% of beneficiaries are sanctioned for not actively seeking work.[3] The reform also introduces the Validation of Acquired Experience service, which provide support for people seeking to validate their acquired experience in order to obtain professional certifications. However, the implementation of this service has been criticised for the lack of consultation with social partners. Finally, unions raised concerns about the reform’s creation of a new method of terminating employment contracts at an employer’s initiative.[4]

[1] Government of France (2022), Health and safety at work – What is changing: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/actualites/A15606 

[2] Légifrance (2022), Law n° 2022-1598 of 21 December 2022: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000046771781

[3] ATD Quart Monde (2022), Unemployment insurance: for ATD Quart Monde, we must rethink employment without stigmatizing the unemployed: https://www.atd-quartmonde.fr/assurance-chomage-pour-atd-quart-monde-il-faut-repenser-lemploi-sans-stigmatiser-les-chomeurs/ 

[4] CFDT (2023), Unemployment Insurance: The rules will become more severe (again): https://www.cfdt.fr/portail/vos-droits/depart-de-l-entreprise/actualite/depart-de-l-entreprise/assurance-chomage-les-regles-vont-encore-se-durcir-srv2_1271481

Poverty eradication

The cost-of-living crisis in 2022 has affected a significant proportion of French people. According to an Ipsos/ Secours Populaire poll on poverty and precariousness conducted in 2022, 37% of respondents reported struggling to afford to eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day, a 5-percentage point increase from 2021. There has been a 20% year-on-year increase in the number of people coming to solidarity self-service centres to receive food aid. Students and young people are amongst the groups most affected by rising prices. Rising transport and energy prices also severely affected French people’s standard of living. Unsurprisingly, households at the lower end of the income scale have been most affected. Two-thirds of households earning less than €1,200 a month reported difficulties in meeting essential expenses, 67% were particularly hit by rising transport costs, 65% by energy costs, and 65% by food prices.[1]

The 2022 evaluation of the National Strategy for Preventing and Combatting Poverty, which was adopted in 2018, found that out of the 35 measures included in the Strategy, only four have so far been adopted. These are the revaluation of the activity allowance, the introduction of complementary health insurance (CSS), the renewal of CSS for minimum-income beneficiaries and the provision of financial literacy advice.[2] CSOs have pointed out that this already underwhelming implementation of the Strategy is being undertaken a time when housing subsidies, subsidised employment contracts and funding for social housing are all being cut. They also roundly criticised the Strategy for being explicitly based on reducing social assistance. The failure of the Strategy was made clear by the government’s introduction of the “Solidarity Pact” in 2022 to deal with the social effects of inflation. This included raising solidarity benefits by 4%, capping rent increases at 3.5% and increasing housing subsidies by 3.5%, far below the rate of inflation.[3]

[1] Ipsos (2022), Barometer of poverty Ipsos/ Secours Populaire: https://www.ipsos.com/fr-fr/barometre-de-la-pauvrete-ipsos-secours-populaire-57-des-francais-disent-avoir-deja-vecu-une

[2] France Stratégie (2022), Evaluation of the National Strategy for Preventing and Combatting Poverty 2022: https://www.strategie.gouv.fr/publications/evaluation-de-strategie-nationale-de-prevention-de-lutte-contre-pauvrete-rapport-2022 

[3] Ministry of solidarity and families (2022), The Solidarity Pact: fighting poverty at its roots: https://solidarites.gouv.fr/de-la-strategie-pauvrete-au-pacte-des-solidarites

Freedom of association

The NSG reported the chilling effect on freedom of association of the so-called “Republican Commitment Contracts” (CER), which were introduced in 2021 as part of the “Law on Separatism”. The law requires that all associations and foundations sign a CER before receiving any public subsidy or collaborating with any public institution. The CER obliges associations to be politically neutral and respect “republican values”. The CER has been sharply criticised by CSOs as being too vague and open to abuse. Certain local authorities, such as the Vienne Prefecture, have used the CER to withdraw subsidies from associations in order to restrict civil society.[1] These concerns are also shared by the Observatory on Freedom of Association, which published a report in February 2022 on the dangers to freedom of association posed by the French government’s “fight against communitarianism and separatism”, especially with regards to the Muslim community. The report found a “systematic absence of legal or factual grounds for sanctions that were examined, ranging from banning access to public facilities to withdrawal of subsidies and even dissolution”.[2] The CER and Law on Separatism have therefore posed a severe risk of state control over civil society through the political instrumentalization of “republican values”. It is therefore unsurprising that the CIVICUS monitor of civic space defines civic space in France as narrowed.[3]

[1] La Ligue de l‘Enseignement (2022), The republican commitment contracts a year later: the risks to freedom of association are confirmed: https://laicite.laligue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CER_nov2022.pdf

[2] Observatory on Freedom of Association (2022), “A new witch-hunt“ against associations: The investigation of the observatory on freedom of association: https://www.lacoalition.fr/Une-nouvelle-chasse-aux-sorcieres-contre-les-associations-l-enquete-de-l

[3] CIVICUS (2023), Monitor - France: https://monitor.civicus.org/country/france/

Energy poverty

The National Observatory on Fuel Poverty estimated that one in five French households is affected by energy poverty, meaning that 12 million people live in poorly insulated homes and/or cannot afford to heat them in winter.[1] Just as in other countries, the French government put several measures in place to attempt to mitigate rising energy prices. In January 2022, the “MaPrimeRénov” programme came into effect, which finances 35% to 50% of the cost of a comprehensive renovation to achieve energy savings of at least 35% for households on modest and very modest incomes. This can be combined with other already existing measures that incentivise energy-saving renovations, such as the Energy Saving Certificates (CEE) and the Coup de Pouce Chauffage.[2] However, the NSG criticised the effectiveness of these schemes, pointing out that they only cover a maximum of 50% of the costs. That means vulnerable households, which are already being hit by sharp reductions in their disposable incomes, must provide the remaining funds themselves. Many are therefore unable to start the renovation work required to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Tenants in private housing are completely overlooked and are at the mercy of their landlords’ decisions to renovate or not. Poorly insulated rented properties will only be properly addressed when the obligation to renovate them comes into force in 2024. In addition, the Energy Cheques provided by the government to offset the rise in energy prices are totally insufficient. The maximum amount over the course of a year was €250, far below the annual rise in energy costs.[3] A more positive development was the decision taken in April 2022 by energy supplier EDF, which is 99.98% owned by the French state, to no longer completely cut off the energy supply of households with unpaid bills. Instead, it provides a 1kW power limit to allow for essential uses of electricity such as running kitchen equipment and lighting.[4]

[1] National Observatory on Fuel Poverty (2023), Dashboard of energy poverty 2022: https://onpe.org/tableau_de_bord/tableau_de_bord_de_la_precarite_energetique_2022_edition_mars_2023 

[2] Ministry of the Ecological Transition (2023), “Heating“ boost: https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/coup-pouce-chauffage 

[3] Agency for the ecological transition (2023), Energy poverty monitored by the National Observatory on Energy Poverty with the Agency: https://expertises.ademe.fr/batiment/quoi-parle-t/precarite-energetique-suivie-lonpe-sein-lademe

[4] EDF (2021), EDF will no longer demand cutting off individual customers’ electricity: https://www.edf.fr/groupe-edf/espaces-dedies/journalistes/tous-les-communiques-de-presse/edf-ne-demandera-plus-la-coupure-d-electricite-pour-ses-clients-particuliers