The Court of Auditors points to a cost of 11 billion euros and notes no effect of the bonus on the employment rate, following a report presented to the Senate.
The Court of Auditors presented a report to the Senate on Wednesday on the activity bonus, carried out at the request of the Senate Finance Committee. This is the first detailed study of the effects of this device. To conduct this evaluation, the Court relied on a study commissioned from economist Antoine Bozio and on a survey conducted with Ipsos among 6,000 people.
Created in 2016 with the dual objective of supporting the purchasing power of low-income workers and encouraging employment, the activity bonus today represents a major expense for public finances.
A cost close to 11 billion and no impact on employment
According to the Court, the activity bonus is close to 11 billion euros per year for public finances, without any effect on the employment rate being noted. According to the Ipsos survey, 80% of those questioned do not take it into account in their employment behavior. The Court concluded that the bonus largely contributed to eliminating situations of poverty for people working full-time, but not for those working part-time. She did not address the criticism that the bonus would constitute a low-wage trap.
Senator LR Arnaud Bazin, special co-rapporteur, declared: “today, this activity bonus is only aimed at apprentices who receive more than 78% of the minimum wage, so it goes to those who are better off, a contradiction”. The Court of Auditors recommends ending the eligibility of apprentices and employees with combined employment and retirement, two categories for which the bonus plays no role in encouraging employment. This measure would, according to her, provide an annual saving of more than 300 million euros.
To strengthen the incentive effect among part-time workers, the best option would undoubtedly be the payment of the individual bonus from the first euro. Today, this bonus is paid to people earning at least 50% of the minimum wage. The Court recalls that this measure, the additional cost of which would reach 900 million euros, would also require the scale to be reduced from above.
Developments planned by the finance law for 2026
According to Service-Public.fr, the finance law for 2026 increases the premium on average by 50 euros per month and per beneficiary from April 1, 2026, bringing its fixed amount to 638.28 euros. “The 50 euro increase in the activity bonus for three million households decided by the government and which came into force in April departs from the recommendations of our report,” underlined Sophie Thibault, president of the fifth chamber of the Court of Auditors.
