€150 to help poor pay for Christmas
This year's prime de noël will be paid to 1.7 million people on income support and other unemployment benefits
ABOUT 1.7 million of France's lowest earners will be offered a one-off payment next month to help them meet the cost of Christmas.
The government has announced that it is renewing the prime de noël initiative, which has been paid out by local Caisses d'Allocations Familiales since 1998.
The amount will be the same as last year - €152.45 for a single person, €228.67 for a couple and an extra €45 for each child or other dependent person in the household.
It will be paid automatically in the second half of December to anyone who receives RSA income support (revenu de solidarité active) or single parents who benefit from the allocation pour parent isolé.
Also eligible are those who receive the allocation de solidarité spécifique or the allocation équivalent retraite, which are paid to certain long-term unemployed people who can no longer claim jobseekers' benefit.
Roselyne Bachelot, the new family and solidarity minister, said some 1.7 million people would benefit from this year's payment, which will cost the state €377m.
She said: "This is a gesture of solidarity, which highlights the government's willingness to help the most fragile people among us."
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