At the behest of then Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, Senator Javier Iacovelli has just presented a report, the result of six months of work, on single parents. She advocates 42 ways to support separated parents and children.
“We have to go to the second one,” repeats Javier Iacovelli, his report in hand. Renaissance senator O de Seine this Monday, September 30, he presented to several journalists the conclusions of the senatorial mission entrusted to him by Gabriel Attal in March 2024. Families with single parents. The result: 42 proposals that make life easier for nearly two million single parents and their three million children, or one in four French families, 80% of which are single mothers.
“A single mother or father with children, that makes a family,” insists Javier Iacovelli, who says he wants to change the view of single parenthood, which is still often seen as a transitional phase. “However, it can become a way of life in the long run. 25% of mothers and 10% of fathers are still single ten years after their separation,” recalls the senator. Hence, according to him, it is urgent to support them in all areas: payment of alimony, access to housing, negotiations with employers… Before you wait to find out whether Michel Barnier’s government will undertake this, check out his leading proposals.
“Family Only” card
Inspired by the Big Family card, it will be issued to single parents based on their tax and social security returns. A veritable sea serpent, regularly mentioned but never created, this card will entitle you to certain benefits: reduced rates for public transport subscriptions, priority access to social housing… Specifically, all you have to do is tick a special box on your annual declaration. of income.
For the more modest, the senator suggests getting the card in advance by renewing an RSA or Family Support Allowance (ASF) application form every three months. An important detail when we know that about 20% of single parents live below the poverty line.
Equal joint custody by default
In France, only 21% of fathers request joint custody, although they receive it in 85% of cases. “We clearly see that the problem is not with the judges, but with the fathers,” emphasizes Xavier Iacovelli. Fathers are important, they need to be involved.” The senator suggests, in the “best interests of the child,” inspiration from Belgium, where joint custody is required by default after separation. Under his proposal, a family judge would consider joint custody first, and any other joint parenting arrangement would have to be justified based on the child’s age, remote locations, or even abuse or violence. abuse
In this case, the senator defends the second parent’s visitation and accommodation rights, and therefore the duty, on weekends and holidays. Finally, it proposes to give every child the right, starting from a yet-to-be-defined “age of distinction”, to choose his or her habitual residence. “Obviously, trust in the child is important, because he is first and foremost a legal being in his own right.” Furthermore, he suggests, without elaborating, to strengthen the “separation training” provided by CAF to support ex-spouses in their co-parenting.
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Deduction from source of alimony
While around 40% of alimony payments remain unpaid, and three years after a reform considered largely inadequate by many associations, Javier Iacovelli offers new ideas on the subject. He first advises to include in the law the contribution to the maintenance and education of the child (CEEE, the real name of alimony) according to a uniform and national scale, which already exists, but which he wants to provide as a minimum. tax that remains to be calculated.
Above all, Javier Iacovelli advocates CEEE, which is calculated based on the income of the custodial parent, but also on the needs of the latter. Far from the current situation. the amount of alimony, on average 180 euros per month, depends exclusively on the income of the non-custodial parent. This leads to a sharp drop in the standard of living for mothers after separation, about 30%, compared to 2% for fathers.
And the bad payers, these fathers who organize their insolvency. “It doesn’t matter what the father’s income is, he has to invest according to his means,” replies the senator, who supports the tax withheld from the CEEE, including the social minimum, then it will be a reduced amount. “Failure to pay will become a misdemeanor, or even a misdemeanor,” he clarifies, implying enhanced recovery measures. A degree to emulate the Quebec model, a benchmark in this field.
Maintain or enhance social support
While the Prime Minister continues to reiterate that the state of public finances requires savings, Javier Iacovelli wants to believe in his ability to protect the red lines for the benefit of single parents. First of all, maintaining the extension of free choice of child care supplements (CMG) from the age of six to twelve. Voted last year as part of the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS), it is due to take effect in July 2025. One million families are to benefit, at a total cost of €400 million. If it survives the 30 billion in savings requested by the government. “It is most important to protect this allocation in this limited budgetary context,” emphasizes Javier Iacovelli.
Another lever to activate, according to him, is the preservation of the Temporary Family Support Allowance (TFB) after reunification. With a maximum amount of €195 per month, this social benefit is paid to separated parents whose ex-spouse no longer pays alimony or if it is less than this amount. Interrupted payment after returning to cohabitation, under the pretext that the new spouse takes part in the care of the child. “But we know that’s not true as soon as there’s a new toothbrush in the bathroom.” Hence his suggestion to maintain the HSF for six months after the start of married life to ensure a transition. The cost of surgery. 400 million euros, there too. It’s enough to make Javier Iacovelli cautious. “We are opening the discussion on the maintenance of the ASR with social partners for a certain period of time,” he says rudely. Before remembering that most of its measures do not require large expenditures on public finances. And, above all, that changing society has value. “Do we want to stay in a model that hasn’t evolved in 30 years?” Answer: in the coming weeks. This Wednesday, October 2, Javier Iacovelli is already scheduled to meet with the new Minister of the Family, Agnes Canayer. It remains to be seen whether she will be sensitive to his suggestions.
Source: Le Figaro
