Everything was ready, all that was needed was the approval of the prefecture services. Which ended in a refusal, putting the lead in the wing of the basic income that the departmental council of Haute-Garonne intended to experiment this year with 1,000 young people aged 18 to 24. This “existence income” would have fluctuated between 350 and 500 euros and would have benefited for eighteen months, to a representative panel, randomly drawn.
“We are forbidden a simple experiment. We regret this because it was a pioneering step towards an inclusive, united and sharing society, to advance the capacity for autonomy of young people and equal opportunities. It was not an additional allowance, ”lamented the socialist boss of the department, Georges Méric, on Thursday.
Not in skills
In the letter sent to the community, the representative of the State indicated that this project was outside the nails legally. On the one hand because there was no law authorizing it. But also because there was a break in equal opportunities due to the draw. And that the departmental council went beyond its area of limited competence to young people in precarious situations.
After two years of Covid-19 and an increase in student precariousness, the departmental council thought that this basic income responded to the situation, in particular due to its experimental nature.
“The rules of procedure were tied up, we had surrounded ourselves with scientists to develop it and 4,000 young people had replied that they were ready to take part in this experiment. It is a legal arbitration, but also a political one within the framework of the implementation of the contract of commitment of the State, of which we are still waiting for certain points”, reacted for his part Arnaud Simion, vice-president in charge of local social action in the department.
The control of the legality of the State passed by there. And it puts a big brake on all income projects of this type carried by 18 other left departments in France. The latter were indeed waiting to see how the Haut-Garonne experiment was progressing to advance their pawns. “We are not giving up, we are going to continue to lobby and we are going to have a meeting with the other department presidents”, indicates Georges Méric who wants to ensure that a bill is examined.
On the other hand, he will not go before the administrative court of Toulouse to contest the decision of the prefect and will not launch the experiment without his approval. His legal services told him that he risked two things if he ventured there: he could be accused of embezzlement of public money, and be sentenced to criminal proceedings, and the young people who would benefit from this income would take the risk to have to pay it back.
A blow for the Haute-Garonne department which knew that it was taking the risk of seeing its request rejected. “In his speech at the Versailles Congress in 2017, Emmanuel Macron said “let’s dare to experiment and deconcentrate (…) let’s dare to conclude real Girondin pacts with our territories, based on trust and responsibility”. Beyond words, there are actions, ”concludes Arnaud Simion in a tackle.