Catherine Vautrin details the bill against social fraud

Debiting a fraudster's bank account or geolocating medical transport: Catherine Vautrin , Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, unveiled on Saturday in Le Parisien the main points of the bill against social fraud expected in the fall.

The government hopes that this text, which "will also include measures to combat tax fraud" to be unveiled by the Minister for Public Accounts, will be "debated in Parliament at the end of the second half of the year," explains Catherine Vautrin.

In presenting his €43.8 billion savings plan for 2026 to reduce the public deficit in mid-July, Prime Minister François Bayrou notably mentioned fraud involving public aid. "Social fraud is a betrayal of those who contribute to finance our social model," Catherine Vautrin emphasized. The damage is estimated at "€13 billion," the politician added.

For example, the minister wants "social security funds to have access to all the assets of the beneficiary" of social benefits to "ensure that they do not have undeclared income."

This bill will also "improve the recovery capacity for unemployment benefits." In the event of "proven fraud," it would be possible to "request reimbursement of the entire amount unduly received, which was not possible today for the return-to-work assistance scheme, for example," she explains. "If that's not enough, we will also be able to recover the money owed by debiting the fraudster's bank account," she explains.

Health transporters should also "equip themselves with a geolocation system and an integrated electronic invoicing system to ensure the accuracy of the kilometers billed," explains Catherine Vautrin. The government also wants unemployment insurance "to be paid only into a bank account located in France or the European Union."

Finally, "in the same way that the Ministry of the Economy taxes traffickers on the quantities of drugs seized, we will also tax them more," announces Catherine Vautrin. The text would thus increase the CSG (general social contribution) collected for illicit activity with a rate of 45%.

Today, for a trafficker under investigation, with "illicit income worth €100,000, Social Security can only recover €9,200 in CSG (General Social Security Contribution). "With a rate of 45%, we will recover €45,000," promises Catherine Vautrin.