The laborious childbirth of the young engagement contract, announced Tuesday, November 2 by Emmanuel Macron and then detailed by his Prime Minister, explains largely the weak enthusiasm that his announcement has aroused. For three months, Bercy fought to reduce the scope of the scheme that aims to allocate up to 500 euros per month at least 26 years seeking to fit into the labor market. The potential public was estimated at 1 million beneficiaries, but Bruno the Mayor conducted crusade to reduce it by invoking the cost of the device (several billion euros) and the risk of seeing prosper in France a young RSA without real counterparty in France jobs.
The Minister of the Economy has finally been heard beyond his hopes. The gauge fell between 400,000 and 500,000 young people, the cost was brought back to 550 million euros. The semantics itself has evolved: While on 12 July, the President of the Republic had mentioned the creation of a “engagement income”, the new device was renamed “contract of engagement”, in order to well Highlight the balance between law and duty, the perception of an allocation on one side, the realization of an insertion process on the other. No question of accrediting the idea that the government would encourage Assistantship, at the moment when many companies, in full overheat, complain not to find the workforce they need.
Naughty, the new contract is not less interesting, precisely because it concentrates the financial and human resources on the most in difficulty audiences, those who have dropped for months, except years. He develops the idea of ”tailor-made”, emphasizing the mobilization of all actors: companies, associative world, local missions but also Pôle emploi, called, for the first time, to recruit advisers specially trained to the Accompanying these young dropouts. Of fifteen to twenty hours of training or accompaniment will be provided weekly for a year, with the hope of removing them on the stirrup.
Improved youth warranty
The state does not share anything. It is very important to improve the young guarantee, launched under the five-year fifth of François Hollande, which allows half of the beneficiaries to find a job six months after leaving the device. In doing so, it only corrects a posteriori one of the great weaknesses of the French school system, which leaves every year, without a degree or qualification, some 95,000 young people devoted to the greatest difficulties of insertion. Their number is fine, it remains scandalously high.
The disappointment that prevailed at the announcement of the young engagement contract shows that the government is far from exhausted the subject of youth. Certainly, learning has experienced a beautiful boom during the five-year, and the extension of the “1 young, 1 solution” plan, launched in July 2020, helps to improve their opportunities for insertion. But the precariousness they continue to be victims increases the risk of generational break in an aging country.
Emmanuel Macron had felt him at the exit of the confinement. He had then called to build “a new pact between generations”, also emphasizing the need for better management of seniors. These two projects unfortunately remain fallowless, especially because the question of funding has still not been clearly posed, neither clearly debated. Let’s hope that the presidential campaign will give the opportunity to do it.