National Recovery and Resilience Plan: France

Abstract

France’s Recovery and Resilience Plan was submitted to the European Commission on 28 April 2021, in accordance with Art. 18 of Regulation (EU) 2021/241 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Being a part of a broader national recovery plan named ‘France Relance’, it consists of 20 reforms and 71 investments in three main areas: green transition, digital transition, and social and territorial cohesion. With particular regard to social issues, the French plan puts a strong focus on youth labour market integration and health care, while being relatively poor in measures relevant to labour law and social protection. Overall, although the plan demonstrates a certain openness towards social growth, it also contains some austerity-driven reforms, especially in the fields of unemployment insurance and retirement pensions, thereby confirming the (still) strong link between social policies and financial sustainability.