Macron announces allowance for the most precarious 16-25 year olds in exchange for training

GONZALO FUENTES via REUTERS

YOUTH – Emmanuel Macron announced this Tuesday, November 2 the launch on March 1, 2022 of a “Youth Engagement Contract”, offering to those under 26 without training or employment for several months a allocation up to 500 euros per month in exchange for 15 to 20 hours per week of training or support.

Inspired by the Youth Guarantee, an intensive support program with recognized success, this project was announced on July 12 by Emmanuel Macron to help the return to employment of young people “without resources and without prospects” and “to put an end to this mess”, specified the Head of State on Facebook.

This allowance will be paid “subject to income, attendance and acceptance of offers of activity made”, he underlines.

To avoid any confusion with a young RSA which it does not want, the executive chose the term “engagement contract” rather than that of “engagement income” used on July 12.

This measure, in gestation for months, was the subject of a battle between on the one hand the Ministry of Labor, which campaigned for the widest possible extension, and Bercy, which sought to limit the cost.

The device should concern around 500,000 young people aged 16 to 25 per year, for some time neither in employment, nor in training, nor in study, instead of the million or even more envisaged this summer, when the possibility of it was mentioned. also include precarious workers and all young people without employment or training.

“At the height of the pandemic, we launched the 1 young 1 solution platform and 3 million of you have found training, an internship or a job”, writes the Head of State, addressing young people directly, recalling that a record number of 525,000 apprenticeship contracts were signed in 2020.

“Thanks to all these actions, youth unemployment is lower today than before the crisis. Moreover, it has never been so weak since 2008 ”.

“It remains too high, however, and I cannot come to terms with several hundred thousand of you having been out of work for too long, often without resources. Without prospects ”, he concludes, estimating that“ the confinement generation can be that of a new impetus ”.

Asked by BFMTV, the President of the Republicans considers that it is about “one more check without provisions”.

And to add: “We are in demagoguery. We are six months away from the election, so we must quickly make one more announcement (…) I can tell you that next week there will be another announcement, on another subject ”.