“There are things that cannot be commodified”

Benoît Hamon, the president of ESS France, puts forward the figure of 186,000 jobs threatened. How was this calculation carried out?

It is the Udes, the Union of ESS employers, which analyzed the draft finance law (PLF) and calculated this figure of 186,000 jobs which risk being lost out of the 2.5 million jobs in the social and solidarity economy (ESS) in France. Udes has identified a possible reduction of 8.26 billion euros for ESS structures and has produced a projection. But this is only the first blade, because the budget cuts also concern the communities which are doing their accounts at the moment. What we are sure of is that there will be budget cuts which will have repercussions at several levels, in terms of direct aid, calls for projects and also public procurement through responsible purchasing. All this will cause damage and we can imagine that in total 10 to 15% of jobs are threatened in the ESS.

The entire solidarity sector is under threat.

Solidarity in the broad sense. Often, we summarize the ESS as medico-social, it is in reality a whole economy of proximity which is important, in culture, sport, leisure, and the environment. If there were no more ESS structures, our entire daily life would be turned upside down. These are community crèches that no longer exist, nursing homes managed by foundations that no longer exist, sports clubs that are disappearing, and cultural activity that is suffering. And it’s also innovation that disappears. Because the ESS is an economy that is a source of innovation and inspiration that marks people’s lives.

Who will be most affected by the 8 billion euros reduction envisaged at state level?

This concerns in particular the structuring of networks and territorial economic cooperation centers. At the same time, the minister announced a 10 million increase in the ESS budget, which confuses things quite a bit. Will this partly offset the announced drop? We don't know the mechanics. What we have to remember is that we are very much waiting. We have set up a crisis unit at Cress to imagine what can be put in place. And we launched a survey of all members, four out of five structures believe that the PLF will have a significant impact.

What are the consequences of this vagueness?

Usually, at this time, the structures prepare the budget for the following year. There are many initiatives or projects that are frozen while waiting. This lack of visibility also leads to very low morale in companies or associations which already work with very constrained budgets. Some say that the ESS just needs to have an autonomous economic model. When we are an association that provides homework help in a priority neighborhood, we cannot be independent. There are things that cannot be commodified. We can clearly see what this could have done in nurseries or nursing homes.