Having left the government, a minister tried to register with France Travail, formerly Pôle emploi. A harsh return to reality…
The scene could be comical – modeled on one of the cult moments of “Santa Claus is trash” where “Zézette” (Marie-Anne Chazel) is helped by Katia (Christian Clavier) to fill out a social security declaration -, if it were not the daily life of thousands of French people. During the reshuffle last September, a minister removed from the government considered that she should register with France Travail, formerly Pôle emploi. Visiting the website for the first time in her thirty-nine year career, mainly in the civil service, she discovered the joys of French administration… and its absurdities.
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A Kafkaesque moment that she could have done without. “It’s hell,” she still complains today. The minister box does not exist! » Neither minister nor politician. A France Travail executive contacted her, however quickly, to calculate her unemployment rights. She interrupts him, outright. “Madam, let’s save time. I have no right to anything! “. The employee insists. “You haven’t done anything since 2022? », she questions. “I am a minister,” replied the person concerned. “Which perhaps explains why I have nothing on you,” before concluding, after about thirty minutes, that having been in the government does not give rise to any right to unemployment.
No employment contract
Ministers do not have an employment contract. And although considered civil servants, they have no legal status. They are only appointed by decree of the President of the Republic, and registered by the general secretariat of the government which takes care of recovering their tax and social data, at the time of their appointment. They receive neither unemployment nor pension for life. On the other hand, whatever the duration of the mandate entrusted to them, members of the government have the right, for three months, to compensation of an amount equal to the salary allocated to them until now (10,200 euros monthly gross for Secretaries of State and 10,700 euros for delegated and full-time ministers), in accordance with an order of November 17, 1958 – amended in 2013 by the law on transparency of life public.
-These compensations are only received under two conditions: the former minister cannot begin a paid activity during these three months and must be in compliance with his declarations of assets and interests with the High Authority for the Transparency of Life public.
“We know from the start that we can lose everything”
“But which minister can think of registering with France Travail? reacted, surprised, one of her former colleagues. Does she not have contacts, ideas, a job? » The main person concerned admits that she has no reason to complain, aware of the difficulties that the French can encounter. But the blow remains harsh. Traumatizing! During the early legislative elections which led to her departure from the government, she had to withdraw – under pressure from her camp – in the second round in order to block a candidate from the National Rally. “We know from the start that we can lose everything,” she tells us. This is why our commitment is strong. » Having since become a minister again, within the Bayrou government, she is now pleading for the creation of a specific status for members of the executive. “Let us pay!” It’s unthinkable to find yourself in such situations. If we don’t do this, eventually no one will get involved in politics. » For the moment no project of this nature is in preparation.
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