In an effort to crack down on fraud, the French government has plans to impose stricter residency requirements for social benefits, the Minister Delegate of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, told Le Parisien on Monday.
"There will be no more social benefits payments to foreign bank accounts outside the European Union from 1 July," Attal said.
The plan includes measures such as using flight records to determine a person's residency and has been accused of perpetuating xenophobic attitudes towards foreign nationals in France.
In a move to tackle social benefits fraud, the government plans to conduct checks on all pensioners living outside the EU who are older than 85 to determine if they are still alive. According to the Minister, France remits one million pensions abroad, but half go to people residing outside of Europe, with 300,000 paid to people residing in Algeria.
The French government initiated checks in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, in autumn of last year to check on retirees who are around 100 years old, and found that 300 out of 1,000 of such beneficiaries had been 'non-compliant' with regulations.
Gabriel Attal dévoile son plan contre les fraudes sociales : • obligation de résider 9 mois en France pour toucher les prestations • fusion de la carte Vitale et de la carte d’identité • contrôle des retraités de plus de 85 ans installés à l’étranger ➡️ https://t.co/hQqHmo6fLo pic.twitter.com/EAUFxl66Zf
— Le Parisien (@le_Parisien) May 30, 2023
Image translation: "There will be no more social benefits payments to foreign bank accounts outside the European Union from 1 July," Gabriel Attal unveils his plan against social fraud.
The minister also promised a €1 billion investment in technology systems and the creation of 1,000 additional jobs dedicated to enforcing the new regulations during the government's five-year term.
Critics of the plan denounce the government for being more eager to crack down on social benefits fraud than on tax fraud.
"[The political class] want to reduce the role of the social model and stigmatise foreign nationals through social benefits fraud and by exaggerating it," Attac France spokesperson and former public finance union leader, Vincent Drezet, told Franceinfo on Monday. Attac France is an organisation advocating for financial, ecological and social justice.
Drezet points out that tax fraud amounts to a more significant loss of at least €80 billion per year, according to data from the public finance workers' union. By contrast, social benefits fraud is estimated at €6 billion to €8 billion a year, says the French Court of Auditors.
Tracking flying patterns
Under the new plan, beneficiaries will need to spend nine months of the year in France in order to qualify for family allowances or the minimum retirement benefits, the Minister said. The current regulations require applicants to spend six months of the year in France.
The same nine months requirement will apply to candidates for housing benefits, up from the current 8-month limit. Housing benefits are granted to tenants and students in France and they need a eurozone bank account to receive them. For social benefits, a valid residency permit is currently required for foreign applicants to be eligible.
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The government wants social security agencies to have access to flight records data to establish "whether a person actually resides in France or spends more time abroad." The Minister said that this measure would be regulatory, but that the National Commission on Information Technology and Liberties (CNIL) would have to validate it.
