Mélenchon’s party included it among the amendments to the Social Security Financing Law
The Proud France Party bloc in the French National Assembly, which is the lower chamber of Parliament, proposed including amendments regarding the possibility of re-enabling Algerian retirees, known as “Shibani”, to benefit from the Solidarity Grant allocated to the elderly, known by the abbreviation “ASPA”, even if they return to reside in their countries of origin.
These proposals were included in Amendment No. 1800 presented by the Proud France Bloc (LFI) in the French National Assembly to the Social Security Financing Law of 2027. It was signed by 73 representatives from this leftist political formation, and Al-Shorouk reviewed it.
The proposal targets, in particular, Algerian workers who immigrated to France during previous decades to work in various sectors, before they reached retirement age, along with elderly people from other Maghreb countries who lived the same experience.
The authors of the amendment call for the preparation of a government report examining the possibility of allowing this category to obtain the grant even after leaving French territory and settling in their countries of origin, with the aim of re-enabling these retirees, known as “Al-Shaibani,” with this grant, especially since they belong to the first generation of immigrants, that is, those who came from Algeria and the Maghreb region to France during the period of economic growth known as the “Glorious Thirty,” extending between 1946 and 1975, to meet the needs of the labor market, especially in Construction, public works, industry and agriculture sectors.
The amendment calls for canceling the requirement to reside in France to obtain the grant
The “Proud France” bloc indicated that these workers are now of advanced age, and that some of them wish to spend their retirement years in their country of origin, but the conditions for benefiting from the Solidarity Grant for the Elderly prevent, according to the amendment’s sponsors, this desire from being fulfilled in many cases.
The amendment stipulates that the French government shall submit to Parliament, within six months of the issuance of the law, a report to evaluate the implementation of the amended Social Security Financing Law of 2023, and to study the conditions for abolishing the requirement of residence in France to obtain the grant, as well as determining the financial impact resulting from this measure, and the mechanisms that allow those concerned to retain their right to benefit from it when residing outside French territory.
The text requires that the migrant worker have resided legally in France for a period of no less than 15 years, and that he has paid contributions to one of the compulsory retirement insurance systems, provided that the government report addresses the possibility of continuing to disburse the grant to this category after their return to their countries of origin.
The authors of the amendment justified their initiative by saying that the requirement to reside in France for the greater part of the year puts the concerned retirees before a difficult choice between staying away from their families in France to maintain the grant, or returning to their countries of origin with the possibility of losing benefit from it, pointing out that a number of them reside in residential centers designated for migrant workers, in conditions they described as difficult, while their families remained in their countries.
The proponents of the proposal stressed that the workers in question contributed to the French economy throughout their years of work, and paid taxes and social contributions, considering that allowing them to spend their retirement close to their families while maintaining a minimum of financial resources requires studying the possibility of reviewing the conditions for disbursing the grant.
The amendment, which is still under study, did not call for the direct abolition of the residency requirement, but rather called for the preparation of a detailed government report evaluating the potential financial burdens of such a measure, in light of the rules for accepting financial amendments, which the initiative’s owners said prevented the immediate abolition of the condition from being proposed within the Social Security Financing Law.
