Three months after Insee reported a record poverty increase in France in 2023, affecting 15.4% of the population, the 2026 finance and social security funding bills propose savings measures that could raise the number of poor people. These include freezing social benefits and other cuts impacting low-income households.
The finance and social security funding bills for 2026, made public on Tuesday, October 14, aim for savings that could directly affect very modest households. A key measure, an 'année blanche,' freezes the amounts of indexed social benefits, avoiding 3.8 billion euros in spending. Affected are the revenu de solidarité active (RSA), prime d'activité, retirement pensions, allocation de solidarité aux personnes âgées (former minimum vieillesse), allocation aux adultes handicapés (AAH), housing aids like aides personnalisées au logement (APL), and family allowances.
This decision has drawn sharp criticism from anti-poverty associations. Other measures heighten risks: doubling medical deductibles, ending APL for non-scholarship non-EU students, and reducing funding for social housing. In offset, credits for the pacte des solidarités rise by 5 million euros, food aid by 10 million, and efforts against homelessness by 110 million euros.
These proposals come amid a record poverty surge, highlighting tensions between fiscal constraints and social needs.