“An anomaly that does not exist elsewhere”: the Minister of Labor is alarmed that 65% of social spending is financed by contributions

The minister responsible for labor and employment, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, said on TF1, Thursday, June 5, “a French anomaly” by pointing out in France, “65% of social protection is funded by work.”

“It is a French anomaly that does not exist in other European countries that manage to reconcile economic competitiveness and social cohesion. It’s time to see this issue,” he added.

The track of a return of “Social VAT”

Prime Minister François Bayrou requested at the end of May an “effort for all French” to straighten public finances by opening the door to the “social VAT” to finance social protection.

Voted in 2012 at the end of the Quinquennium of Nicolas Sarkozy, after immediately repealed by its successor François Hollande and, therefore, it was never applied, this measure consisted of compensating the reductions in the contributions that weigh on work for an increase in VAT, to assign a fraction of this tax collected in the consumption of financing social security.

“Work must finance the risks associated with work. They are pensions, it is unemployment insurance, they are accidents at work, of course. But work is not intended to finance risks what are universal,” insisted Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet.

The possibility of a “white year” on the table

When asked about the proposal of the deputy of the Renaissance Mathieu Lefèvre to establish a “White Year”, that is, an frost in 2026 of social benefits at his current level, the minister replied: “Full of tracks (…) are on the table.”

“These are things that must be invested and educate” in a general approach “, so that there is a global announcement of mid -July.”

“A general plan is needed to demonstrate that the effort is shared absolutely everywhere and for all in our country,” he said.

The parliamentarians, the social partners, the representatives of the professional health unions and several ministers met at the beginning of the week in Bercy to reflect “the levers” of a return to the financial balance of social security before 2029, objective of the government despite a chronic deficit.