Some call it “universal” income, others “vital” or even “citizen”.
Behind these semantic convolutions hides an old chimera that has resurfaced for a few months, on the right as on the left: the establishment of a minimum income, without conditions and from 18 years old, while the active solidarity income (RSA) n 'is open today only to over 25s.
The idea is not new: she was the figurehead of Benoît Hamon's project for 2017 but had evaporated with the Elyos dreams of the former PS candidate.
Read also: Why the utopia of universal income resurfaces in the face of the crisis
This Monday, March 1, the ecologist MEP and candidate for the primary of Europe Ecology-The Greens (EELV) Yannick Jadot for example praised on Radio Classique his "citizen income" at 655 euros for all.
"Citizen income is not a prospect of life but avoids queuing for food aid or finding yourself sleeping in the street"
, he explained, quantifying his
"public service shield to help the most households. in difficulty
”to 30 billion euros.
At EELV, "citizen income" is therefore presented as an aid of 655 euros, the equivalent of the RSA increased by 100 euros, and would be available to all citizens over 18 years of age.
"Confidence shock"
On the right, the subject struggles to convince, and those who defend it are sometimes accused of "
cryptocommunists
".
However, the Secretary General of the Republicans Aurélien Pradié is certain, "
the right must not abandon these 'new' subjects to the left and to the extremes, as was the case for ecology, culture or domestic violence. "
.
This defends the creation of a budget of around 700 euros,
"less than income from work"
, accessible from 18 years on condition of having worked two or three months for an association or a local authority.
"
We need to offer a shock of confidence for the new generation which will not only go through allocation adjustments or an extension of the RSA,"
explains Aurélien Pradié.
(Universal assistance) will also clean up the social assistance forest, which is now completely unreadable.
The idea is fairly liberal: by ensuring this safety net, we will give more taste for economic adventure.
It remains to convince his political family to add this device to a possible presidential program.
Read also: The coronavirus has brought universal income up to date
The Socialist Party is enjoying this renewed interest in what was the flagship measure of Benoît Hamon's program in the last presidential elections.
"I have heard a lot about universal income for a few weeks, but we had proposed a basic income experimentation law in January 2019,"
recalls PS MP Boris Vallaud.
Socialist deputies then defended the creation of a basic income at the level of the RSA subject to an endowment of 5,000 euros for all young people from the age of 18, but this proposal had been rejected by the majority.
"It is not a question of putting back to back employment and social protection,
assures Boris Vallaud today.
Young people all aspire to work, no less at 24 than at 26, and our system would be backed up by a support service towards employment.
"
Campaign promise
The idea of a “
universal activity income
” to sort through social assistance and offer a clear and identical device to all French adults was a campaign promise from Emmanuel Macron.
But it is very likely not to see the light of day before the next presidential elections.
"
This measure made it possible to recover the 25 to 30% of French people who are entitled to social assistance but who do not ask for it,"
explains a member of the majority.
For mainly budgetary reasons, it could not be implemented until today. ”
Read also: Faced with the crisis, Germany is experimenting with universal income
"
Some in the majority criticize the universal income because it would not encourage a return to employment,"
explains LREM deputy Pierre Person, who sent with 14 other majority deputies a letter to Jean Castex on February 6 to demand
“More social justice”
.
We defend aid that allows everyone to survive without becoming a poverty trap that locks you in a precarious situation.
"To date, the working group has not quantified the amount of said"
universal activity income
".
At a little over a year from the presidential elections, the subject is however likely to return very quickly on the table of the candidates for the succession of Emmanuel Macron.