Social Benefits in France

Unemployment Benefits and Job Seeking in France


The Pôle-Emploi (Employment Centre) operates the employment centre, assisting job seekers to find placement and ensures benefits are paid. It also works with employers, assisting companies in their recruitment and collects contributions for unemployment insurance.

The conditions for received unemployment benefits are very complex, and depend on an individual's circumstances. However one criteria is that an employee must have worked 4 months out of the previous 28 months and not have left their employment of their own free will. The job seeker must pre-register either by email, or telephone, then they received a notice of appointment.

During the interview an advisor will write up a plan of action (called projet Personnalisé d'Accès à l'Emploi) to find a job. Job seekers eligible for benefit payments will immediately be registered as an employment seeker. Once the file (dossier)  is complete, and the form allowing unemployment benefit is signed, the dossier will be examined and the unemployed person will be notified of their rights.

The duration of the benefit is then directly proportional to the period of employment. So a minimum of 4 months employment grants you 4 months unemployment benefit, although if you had at least 2 months employment in the last 28 months you are eligible to a one-off payment of €500.00.

The duration of the benefit then rises on a scale directly related to your period of coverage, to a maximum of 2 years unemployment benefit for those less than 50 years of age.

For those 50+ years of age, the maximum duration of cover is 36 months, provided you have been in employment for at least 3 years. So if your salary was €20,000. in the previous 12 months, you would be entitled to €20,000/365 days = €55, per day.

Housing Benefit and Income support


Revenue Minimum d'Insertion (RMI) is the French equivalent of the British Income Support.

If a family has fewer than 3 children it will usually receive financial aid in the form of APL personalised accommodation help, which is calculated according to the global revenue of the household  and can account for a third or even half of the rent amount. If the family has three or more children, it is not eligible for APL, but receives family allowance, the amount depends on both the revenue of the household and the number of children. The money is paid to the household and not individually.  The housing projects are not rent free, but are relatively inexpensive.

If the unemployment benefit runs out before you get a job, and have worked 5 years out of the previous 10 years, then you may be paid income support. If you qualify then it is paid automatically. The amount of payment depends on your work history, average salary etc. This is called specific solidarity allowance, (ASS) and is set at €15.37 / day according to the resources of the beneficiary, it is paid at full or reduced rate. It is paid monthly for six months, after six months it is reviewed and may be paid for another six months.