The 2024 Christmas bonus has been paid, more than 5,000 beneficiaries in Corsica

Paid automatically, the Christmas bonus concerns people receiving certain social minimums. In Corsica, several thousand people benefit from it. But for the island unions, if this aid is necessary, it is no longer sufficient today, because it is not indexed to the real cost of living.

For many, this represents a real boost when it comes to buying gifts or preparing the end-of-year holiday meal. Now one week before the big day, the Christmas bonus was paid yesterday, Tuesday December 17, to eligible people, that is to say recipients of active solidarity income, the RSA, but also all beneficiaries of the specific solidarity allowance, the ASS, and the retirement equivalent allowance, the AER.

Non-taxable, this exceptional aid does not require any action on the part of the beneficiary to be able to receive it. Depending on social minimums, it can be paid by France Travail, the agricultural social mutuality, or even by the Family Allowance Fund.

In Corsica, there are a total of more than 5,000 this year receiving the Christmas bonus. The vast majority receive this assistance from CAF. “In Corsica-du-Sud, we have a little over 2,000 beneficiaries who benefit from this Christmas bonus, and in Haute-Corse, a little over 2,800 beneficiaries.“, explains Karine Dewevre, deputy director of the CAF of Haute-Corse.

For the CAF of Corsica, this represents the payment of more than one million euros annually, at an average amount of 152.45 euros per beneficiary. An amount which can vary depending on the personal situation of RSA beneficiaries: a person living as a couple with two children, for example, is entitled to aid of 320.15 euros. A person living alone with four children received 396.37 euros.

Are these amounts appropriate? According to Christelle Giansily, general secretary of the Departmental Union of the CFDT of Haute-Corse, the Christmas bonus is “a necessary gesture of solidarity“, which nevertheless must not”mask the urgency of an ambitious employment policy“.

The unions also regret that this bonus is not indexed to the cost of living on the island, while food products are on average 14% more expensive there than on the continent.

“This bonus, and all the bonuses that are given, such as the insularity bonus, have not changed for decades, deplores Charles Casabianca, Secretary General of the CGT of Upper Corsica. There are metropolitan regions, like Corsica, where the cost of living is higher and where the amount of these premiums must be higher.“

The amounts of the Christmas bonus, even converted into euros, have not been modified since its creation in 1998.