“Zero unemployment territory”: an expensive but useful system, according to the Court of Auditors

Established by law in 2016, this experiment, which is based on the idea that "no one is unemployable," allows voluntary territories "of 5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants" to create "employment-oriented businesses" (EBE), which recruit people who have been unemployed for a long time on permanent contracts, the Sages point out.

It was extended in 2020 and is due to end on 30 June 2026. Parliament must decide on its fate before this deadline.

Significant human and financial resources

In the meantime, the Court has decided to focus on this "singular object" which, at the end of 2024, concerned 83 territories, with 86 EBE and "3,290 employees resulting from long-term job loss".

Initially, the idea behind the experiment was that the money raised was equivalent to the overall cost of unemployment support, estimated at €18,000 per person per year. However, the Court emphasizes, "this estimate was refuted" by an official report in 2019.

The Sages point out that the experiment requires "significant resources, both human and financial."

Financial imbalance

They note a "clear" financial imbalance, with expenditure of 57.1 million euros in 2024 for the State (compared to 5.8 million in 2017) and 7.5 million for the departments.

"The amount of public funding in 2023, compared to the number of employees benefiting from the experiment in full-time equivalent (FTE), shows an annual cost of 28,000 euros per FTE," the report notes.

This is more than other integration schemes such as adapted companies (18,000 euros) or integration companies (12,000).

The Sages also point to "atypical governance." The piloting of the experiment has been entrusted to an association that manages the Territorial Experimental Fund against Long-Term Unemployment (ETCLD), whose monitoring by state administrations is carried out "at a minimum."

The Court also considers that "it is necessary to put an end to the management of public funds concerned by an association" and wishes "that the approach be part of common law policies in favor of employment."