“chestnut tree” et “stigma” : government spokesman Olivier Véran and left-wing leaders denounced on Wednesday a bill by elected Les Républicains (LR) for “supervise the use of the back-to-school allowance” et “fight against fraud”.
“The back-to-school allowance is useful and fair! It is a precious help for three million families to finance children’s supplies and meet back-to-school expenses. Let’s stop the stigma”, tweeted Olivier Véran. A daring speech in view of his calls for the stigmatization of the unvaccinated throughout the Covid-19 crisis, through the implementation of discriminatory measures such as the vaccination pass.
The back-to-school allowance is useful and fair!
It is a precious help for 3 million families to finance children’s supplies and to meet back-to-school expenses.
Stop the stigma. pic.twitter.com/fkh6xtjSes— Olivier Veran (@olivierveran) August 17, 2022
According to the explanatory memorandum to this bill, co-signed in particular by the interim president of LR Annie Genevard, the deputies Virginie Duby-Muller, Marie-Christine Dalloz and Pierre-Henri Dumont, “the absence of control over the expenses incurred” with this allowance “de facto allows beneficiaries to use this aid for purposes other than the needs of their children for their schooling”.
This text advocates making available to families, “for every child”of a “kit of supplies and a back-to-school allowance in the form of vouchers so that families can dress their children or buy them the books and tools necessary for their schooling”. The text also aims to “require, as a pre-requisite, the production of proof of schooling to avoid fraud.”
Social fraud amounting to several tens of billions of euros, as pointed out in particular by Charles Prats, former magistrate in charge of the fight against social and tax fraud at the Ministry of Finance, many political figures, in particular on the right, call regularly put in place control mechanisms to curb undue payments by the State made with taxpayers’ taxes:
???? @CharlesPrats : “The National Assembly’s parliamentary commission of inquiry concluded, for the year 2021, at 45 billion euros in social benefits fraud. It’s not just me who says it!”#socialfraud #BFMTV
???? https://t.co/m6lwrJ7kMG pic.twitter.com/fw6iz9gHlJ— Sud Radio (@SudRadio) September 24, 2021
“The back-to-school chestnut tree. Every year parents are accused of buying plasma screens with the back-to-school allowance… new rims… smartphones… The old fantasy of the poor who drink alcohol. benefit money”mocked the PS vice-president of the Senate and former Minister of the Family Laurence Rossignol.
“Behind this proposal, there is a questioning of the ability of the poorest parents to take care of their children. And this is serious”for her part estimated the ecologist deputy of Paris Sandrine Rousseau.
The right had already tabled similar bills, notably in 2020.
The back-to-school allowance (ARS) is paid at the end of August, subject to resources, to families with at least one school-going child aged between six and 18 years. For the start of the 2022 school year, the amount is 376.98 euros per child aged six to 10; 397.78 euros per child aged 11 to 14 and 411.56 euros per child aged 15 to 18.