Labour marketFrance

In forceDecree no. 2025-478 of 30 May 2025 introduces the « suspension-remobilisation » sanction for everyone registered with France Travail.

2023 Full Employment Act: France Travail and automatic registration of RSA recipients

The law of 18 December 2023 replaced Pôle emploi with France Travail on 1 January 2024 and created a « network for employment ». Since January 2025, recipients of the RSA minimum income, young people supported by local youth agencies and disabled people supported by Cap emploi are automatically registered with France Travail and sign a single « commitment contract », with in principle at least 15 hours of activity a week. A graduated « suspension-remobilisation » sanction applies since 1 June 2025. The Constitutional Council struck down the data-sharing provisions and issued interpretation reservations.

Updated: November 3, 2026Next milestone: 2027 — Deadline of the government’s full-employment target (about 5% unemployment)

At a glance

Reference text

Loi n° 2023-1196 du 18 décembre 2023 pour le plein emploi (Full Employment Act)[1][5]

No. 2023-1196 · December 18, 2023

Read the text ↗

Carried by

  • Olivier Dussopt[4][14]Minister of Labour, Full Employment and Integration (ministre du Travail, du Plein emploi et de l’Insertion) · 2023 · Initiator
  • Jean-Christophe Combe[14][4]Minister for Solidarity, Autonomy and Disabled People (ministre des Solidarités, de l’Autonomie et des Personnes handicapées), co-signatory of the bill · 2023 · Initiator
  • France Travail[5]Public employment operator, successor to Pôle emploi · depuis 2024 · Implementation

Implementation

  • France Travail
  • Départements (RSA follow-up and sanctions)
  • Local youth agencies (missions locales) and Cap emploi
  • Municipalities — organising authorities for early-childhood care

Status

In force

since June 1, 2025[6][5]

Decree no. 2025-478 of 30 May 2025 introduces the « suspension-remobilisation » sanction for everyone registered with France Travail.

Stated objective

Reach full employment — « a job for everyone, everywhere » — by bringing the people furthest from work, especially RSA recipients, back into employment; the government set the goal of an unemployment rate of about 5% in 2027.[4][18][5]

According to the government (Council of Ministers report of 7 June 2023; impact study of the bill)

  • Unemployment rate targeted (full employment)

    5%

    in 2027 · according to the government, impact study of the bill (June 2023)[18][4]

    « Moving from an unemployment rate of 7.1% to 5.0% » by 2027, in the words of the impact study.

  • New early-childhood care places planned

    200,000

    by 2030 · target recalled by the law’s scientific evaluation committee (interim report, December 2025)[5]

Main measures

  • France Travail replaces Pôle emploi on 1 January 2024 and coordinates a « network for employment » with the départements, local youth agencies (missions locales) and Cap emploi, steered by a national employment committee and territorial committees co-chaired by the State and local authorities.[1][5]
  • From January 2025, automatic registration with France Travail of RSA recipients (and of their spouse or partner), of young jobseekers in the youth commitment contract (CEJ) or PACEA, and of disabled people supported by Cap emploi.[1][5][2]
  • A single « commitment contract » replaces the PPAE, the CEJ / PACEA contracts and the RSA reciprocal-commitment contract; its action plan sets a weekly activity time of at least 15 hours (training, support, work placements), which can be lowered or waived depending on the person’s situation (health, disability, single parent without childcare).[1][2][5][3]
  • Graduated sanctions (decree of 30 May 2025, in force 1 June 2025): no more systematic removal from the register at each breach; the adviser chooses suspension or withdrawal, for 1 to 4 months, of 30% to 100% of the allowance (capped at 50% for RSA households of more than one person); under « suspension-remobilisation », if the person complies before the end of the suspension, the RSA withheld can be paid back retroactively and unemployment-benefit entitlement re-credited.[6][5][1]
  • Public early-childhood service: from 1 January 2025, municipalities become organising authorities for the care of young children.[1][5][4]
  • Disabled workers: placement in ordinary employment becomes a universal right, and workers in sheltered workshops (ESAT) gain the right to strike and to join a union.[1][5]

In data

Unemployment rate (ILO)

8.3%

Q2 2026

INSEESee the card →

Long-term unemployment

2.1%

Q2 2026

INSEESee the card →

Employment rate (15-64)

51.5%

2024

World BankSee the card →

Key figures

Unemployment rate (ILO)

8.3%

Q2 2026

INSEESee the card →

RSA recipients registered with France Travail (before the reform)

42%

June 2022 · Observed

according to the Dares, quoted by the scientific evaluation committee[5]

Out of 2 million RSA recipients; 1.2 million were not registered.

RSA recipients in employment seven years after entering the scheme

34%

as stated in June 2023 · Observed

according to the government (Council of Ministers report, 7 June 2023)[4]

RSA recipients who joined intensive support in the first pilot wave

16,000

at 31 December 2023 · Observed

according to the scientific evaluation committee (interim report, December 2025)[5]

26% of the people who received the RSA at least once in the pilot zones between March and December 2023.

Maximum suspension or withdrawal of the allowance per sanction

100%

since 1 June 2025 · Observed

decree no. 2025-478 (full withdrawal for the most serious or repeated breaches)[6][5]

From 30% to 100%, for 1 to 4 months; capped at 50% for RSA households of more than one person.

Timeline

  1. Pilot of renewed support for RSA recipients in 18 territories[5]

    Run under existing law and with the old sanctions system; extended to 46 territories from March 2024.

  2. Report of the France Travail consultation mission (Thibaut Guilluy) delivered[4]

  3. Announced

    Bill presented in the Council of Ministers and tabled in the Senate[4][2]

  4. Under debate

    Parliamentary examination begins (Senate, first reading)[7][8]

  5. Bill adopted by the Senate at first reading[16][14]

    250 votes for, 91 against.

  6. Bill adopted by the Assemblée nationale at first reading[15][14]

  7. Joint committee (CMP) agrees on a common text[7][14]

    Meeting at the Assemblée nationale; joint committee report no. 57 (2023-2024) tabled on 24 October.

  8. Final adoption by Parliament[15][14][17]

    After the Senate approved the joint committee text on 9 November (243 votes for, 99 against), a last vote in the Assemblée nationale completed the adoption.

  9. Referral to the Constitutional Council by more than 60 deputies[3][14]

    Deputies of the La France insoumise, Gauche démocrate et républicaine, Écologistes and Socialistes groups challenge the procedure and articles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7.

  10. Constitutional Council decision no. 2023-858 DC: partial non-conformity with reservations[2][3]

    Censured: provisions on sharing personal data, including health data, within the network for employment (a « disproportionate infringement » of privacy). Reservations: the weekly activity time must suit the person’s situation and never exceed legal working time; the 15-hour minimum applies « in principle » and may be lowered but not to zero; sanction durations and amounts set by decree must remain proportionate.

  11. Adopted

    Promulgation after the Constitutional Council ruling[2][3][1]

    Partially struck down: the Constitutional Council censured provisions on sharing personal data within the network for employment, and upheld the commitment contract and sanctions subject to interpretation reservations.

  12. In force

    France Travail replaces Pôle emploi[5][3]

    Phased entry into force: the operator and the network for employment first, the other measures in 2025.

  13. Scientific committee to evaluate the law appointed (chaired by François Fontaine)[5]

  14. State, Unédic and France Travail sign the 2024-2027 tripartite agreement[9]

  15. In force

    Nationwide roll-out: automatic registration and commitment contract[5][2]

    Automatic registration of RSA recipients, young people in CEJ / PACEA and Cap emploi users; renewed support; municipalities become organising authorities for early-childhood care.

  16. Just under one million new RSA recipients registered with France Travail[10]

    Count by France Travail at 31 January 2025, one month after automatic registration started, reported by Unédic (March 2025).

  17. In force

    New graduated sanctions regime in force[6][5]

    Decree no. 2025-478 of 30 May 2025 introduces the « suspension-remobilisation » sanction for everyone registered with France Travail.

  18. Automatic referral of new registrants to their lead organisation rolled out nationwide[5]

  19. Unions and associations announce four appeals against the sanctions decree[13][19]

    Lodged before the Council of State in July 2025 by the Ligue des droits de l’Homme, the CFDT, Unsa, and the CGT together with other unions and ten associations including Secours Catholique and Emmaüs France.

  20. Interim report of the scientific evaluation committee[5]

  21. Dares-IPP quantitative evaluation of the RSA pilot published[11][12]

    Participants gain in (notably lasting) employment, but these gains are offset by spillover effects on other RSA recipients in the same labour-market area: no significant net effect on employment overall. The pilot had no extra France Travail resources and predates the 2025 sanctions regime. Nearly two-thirds of the participants’ gain in lasting employment comes from subsidised contracts.

  22. Council of State rejects the four appeals against the sanctions decree (decision no. 506563)[19]

    A sanction may only be imposed without a legitimate reason, and even then the administration must assess, under the judge’s review, whether the breach justifies it in view of the person’s circumstances — otherwise it must refrain; on that basis the 30% minimum does not breach the principle of individualised penalties.

  23. Upcoming — the outcome is not known

    Deadline of the government’s full-employment target (about 5% unemployment)[18][9]

    2027 is also the last year of the State-Unédic-France Travail tripartite agreement.

  24. Upcoming — the outcome is not known

    Target date for 200,000 new early-childhood care places[5][4]

The debate

Citoyen takes no position: arguments are reported as their authors put them.

According to its supporters

  • Only 34% of RSA recipients are in work seven years after entering the scheme: the government argues that people furthest from work need stronger, systematic support to reach full employment.[4]
  • The Senate rapporteur who introduced the 15 hours (Pascale Gruny) argued that a minimum activity time, understood broadly, is essential to guarantee more intensive support and mobilisation of jobseekers.[3]
  • According to the evaluation committee, the academic literature suggests that renewed support can improve the chances of returning to work, through help structuring job search, remobilisation and the incentive effect of a formal commitment contract.[5]

According to its opponents

  • The deputies who referred the law argued that automatically registering the spouses and partners of RSA applicants imposes obligations they never agreed to and breaches their privacy, and that the bill was tabled before the RSA pilot had been evaluated (both arguments rejected by the Constitutional Council).[2]
  • Unions and associations (Ligue des droits de l’Homme, CFDT, Unsa, CGT, Secours Catholique…) argued before the Council of State that withholding at least 30% of the RSA for up to four months, or ending it, leaves too little to live on and breaches human dignity (arguments rejected in September 2026).[19][13]
  • Intensive support may help some jobseekers at the expense of others: the Dares-IPP evaluation of the pilot finds that participants’ gains are offset by effects on other RSA recipients, with no significant net effect on employment.[11][12][5]

Indicators to watch

  • Unemployment rate (ILO) · InseeSee the card →
  • Long-term unemployment · InseeSee the card →
  • Employment rate (15-64) · InseeSee the card →
  • Jobseekers registered with France Travail (categories A, B, C) · Dares / France Travailno Citoyen card yet
  • Recipients of minimum social benefits (incl. RSA) · Drees / Cnafno Citoyen card yet

Sources

  1. [1]Loi n° 2023-1196 du 18 décembre 2023 pour le plein emploi (JORF n° 0293 du 19 décembre 2023) — Légifrance, December 19, 2023
  2. [2]Décision n° 2023-858 DC du 14 décembre 2023 — Loi pour le plein emploi — Conseil constitutionnel, December 14, 2023
  3. [3]Commentaire de la décision n° 2023-858 DC du 14 décembre 2023 — Loi pour le plein emploi — Conseil constitutionnel, December 2023
  4. [4]Compte rendu du Conseil des ministres du 7 juin 2023 (projet de loi pour le plein emploi) — Présidence de la République, June 7, 2023
  5. [5]Rapport intermédiaire du comité scientifique d’évaluation de la loi pour le plein emploi (comité présidé par François Fontaine, rapporteurs Dares) — Dares, publié sur Vie-publique.fr (DILA), December 2025
  6. [6]Décret n° 2025-478 du 30 mai 2025 relatif aux sanctions applicables aux demandeurs d’emploi en cas de manquement à leurs obligations — Légifrance, May 31, 2025
  7. [7]Rapport n° 57 (2023-2024) fait au nom de la commission mixte paritaire sur le projet de loi pour le plein emploi — Sénat, October 24, 2023
  8. [8]Le Sénat adopte le projet de loi « pour le plein emploi » — Public Sénat, July 2023 · secondary source
  9. [9]L’État, France Travail et l’Unédic ont signé le 30 avril 2024 la nouvelle convention qui fixe les grandes orientations stratégiques de France Travail jusqu’en 2027 — France Travail, April 30, 2024
  10. [10]RSA et France Travail : comprendre les conséquences pour l’assurance chômage — Unédic, March 26, 2025
  11. [11]Évaluation quantitative de l’expérimentation de l’accompagnement rénové des bénéficiaires du RSA — Dares, June 2026
  12. [12]Quantitative evaluation of the revamped support scheme for RSA recipients (IPP Reports no. 68, Breda et al.) — Institut des politiques publiques (IPP), June 2026
  13. [13]Communiqué de presse — Recours contre le décret « sanctions » (22 octobre 2025) — Secours Catholique – Caritas France, October 22, 2025 · secondary source
  14. [14]Dossier législatif — Projet de loi pour le plein emploi (n° 710, 2022-2023) — Sénat, December 19, 2023
  15. [15]Dossier législatif — Pour le plein emploi (16e législature) — Assemblée nationale, November 14, 2023
  16. [16]Scrutin n° 330 — séance du 11 juillet 2023, sur l’ensemble du projet de loi pour le plein emploi — Sénat, July 11, 2023
  17. [17]Scrutin n° 29 — séance du 9 novembre 2023, sur le texte élaboré par la commission mixte paritaire — Sénat, November 9, 2023
  18. [18]Étude d’impact du projet de loi pour le plein emploi (n° 710, 2022-2023) — Gouvernement, publié par le Sénat, June 7, 2023
  19. [19]Conseil d’État, 1re et 4e chambres réunies, 21 septembre 2026, n° 506563, 506741, 506747, 506786 (décret n° 2025-478) — Conseil d’État, September 21, 2026