“It is often a measure that allows you to keep your head above water,” warns Secours populaire

The government announced Monday that it intended to stop the payment of this exceptional bonus for beneficiaries who do not have children. It is allocated to more than 2 million households in France.

The Christmas bonus, intended for RSA beneficiaries and unemployed people at the end of their rights, “is often a measure that keeps your head above water”alert Tuesday November 4 on France Inter Popular Relief. The government confirmed Monday evening that it wanted to eliminate this bonus for beneficiaries without children.

“The Christmas bonus, you have to realize that it happens in very, very modest households”reacts Nicolas Champion, national secretary in charge of Solidarity at Secours populaire. “Often, it supplements a bank overdraft, it helps pay an energy bill which is increasingly important today. So it’s often a measure that allows you to keep your head above water. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be for an extra gift.”

Moreover, “we must not limit the vision of precariousness to homes where there are children”underlines Nicolas Champion. “In the people we welcome, we have 44 % of people who are alone, isolated elderly people, students for example.”

This bonus, created in 1998, is awarded to more than 2.2 million households.