Sophie Cluzel provoked the outrage of opposition groups by justifying her rejection of individualization. – Jacques Witt / SIPA
On Thursday, the Government forced the National Assembly to vote, in a highly charged atmosphere, a revision of the calculation of the disabled adult allowance (AAH) for people in a couple, by rejecting its “individualization” yet widely supported in the hemicycle and by the associative world. The spouse’s income will continue to be taken into account for the calculation of the AAH, depending on the version adopted.
Faced with a strong dispute, including by the majority, the Government asked for a postponement of the vote, then used the blocked vote, leaving the deputies with no choice but to vote without editing the version approved by the executive. To protest, the right and left oppositions left the hemicycle. The text must now go back to the Senate or more likely be included in the next Social Security budget for application on January 1, 2022.
“A wallet instead of the heart”
“It’s a politician, it sucks”, was indignant the Communist Marie-George Buffet, in unison with many elected officials on all the benches, who denounced “procedural artifices” and, on a subject as well sensitive, a “moral fault”. The charges flew on both sides during the four hours of this electric session, dedicated to the second reading of this text, which had been initiated by the Freedom and Territories group last year, and was repeated Thursday in the part of a “niche” of the communist group.
The Secretary of State for Persons with Disabilities, Sophie Cluzel, denounced “a miserable vision of disability”, François Ruffin (LFI) accusing in return the government of having “a wallet in place of the heart”. “Do not fall into the trap of oppositions,” called in a message to his troops the boss of LREM deputies Christophe Castaner. Some hesitated on their vote, especially on the MoDem side, and the Agir ally was for individualization, so as not to penalize certain beneficiaries.
The autonomy of disabled people in question
Created in 1975, the AAH is intended to compensate for the inability to work. For a maximum amount of 904 euros per month, it is paid on medical and social criteria. It now has more than 1.2 million beneficiaries, of which 270,000 are couples, for an annual expenditure of around 11 billion euros. The fact that some people have to choose between living as a couple at the risk of seeing their compensation decrease, or keeping it but renouncing their relationship legally, has been at the center of the controversy.
From La France Insoumise to Les Républicaines, many deputies have called for an end to an “iniquitous and so unjust situation”. “It is the right to autonomy of people with disabilities which is at the heart of the debate”, pleaded the communist Stéphane Peu, co-rapporteur.
The Secretary of State for Families, yet in favor of deconjugalization
The government rejected the proposal, opting instead for a flat-rate allowance of 5,000 euros on the spouse’s income. A formula considered “more redistributive” which would allow according to the Secretary of State, Sophie Cluzel, 120,000 beneficiary couples to receive on average 110 euros net per month in addition.
Alexandre Holroyd (LREM) pointed to the “extraordinarily anti-redistributive” character of an individualization of this allowance, because thus “it would benefit couples with the highest incomes, without improving the condition of the most fragile”, resulting in 44,000 losers. But the Secretary of State for Families, Adrien Taquet, for example, recently spoke out in a “personal” capacity in favor of “de-maritalization”.
Sophie Cluzel justifies by computer difficulties
Sophie Cluzel, who recalled that she was the mother of a disabled daughter, assured that she wanted to promote “real rights” against the supporters of “incantatory rights”. She also argued that an individualization of the AAH would encounter difficulties in setting up IT, an argument that has earned her a flurry of criticism.
Some have warned of the scope of this blocked vote. “You misrepresent the rights of Parliament. You will be responsible for the abstention on Sunday ”in the first round of regional and departmental elections, denounced Christine Pires-Beaune (PS). “The method is scandalous”, reacted the lawyer and activist Elisa Rojas, denouncing “the brutality and contempt of Sophie Cluzel and her government towards the people concerned, on a subject essential for their autonomy and their survival” .
It is “a shameful coup de force which despises people with disabilities. Unacceptable ”, also judged in a press release France handicap. Regretting “a new setback”, the collective “Les Dévalideuses” however greeted on Twitter the “birth of a new militant convergence” in favor of the rights of people with disabilities.