Gabriel Attal at the Elysee Palace, February 24. – Jacques Witt / SIPA
The abolition of family allowances to fight against school absenteeism, voted by the Senate (with a right-wing majority) on first reading of the bill on “separatism”, “is not the government’s position”, declared this Friday his spokesperson Gabriel Attal.
“This is not the government’s position. There is obviously an issue of family empowerment, but I do not believe at all in this track, ”said the government representative on FranceInfo.
“Other ways”
“When you have a single mother who gets up at 5 am to go to work and to do housework, who has two sons, one of whom (…) no longer goes to school, you can treat yourself by saying ‘we’re going remove his family allowances “but I’m not sure that solves the problem of adding misery to misery”, argued Gabriel Attal.
For the spokesperson “there are other ways”. “We must always work to make families more responsible and there are contracts for accountability that exist, there is work that exists with the National Education and local communities, but this solution is not a solution that is supported by the government, ”he said.
To fight against school absenteeism, the upper house on Monday restored the possibility of suspending family and back-to-school allowances, according to a “proportionate and graduated” procedure, “favoring dialogue”. Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer was not specifically opposed to it but relied on the “wisdom” of the upper assembly.