The consideration of a bill on old age proposed by Emmanuel Macron, suspended since mid-April, resumed on Monday November 20 in the National Assembly with the adoption of new articles on domestic assistance and nursing homes, despite strong criticism from the opposition even in the presidential camp, indicating a lack of ambition faced with the challenge of aging.

This text has a dimension “socially” against “mistreatment” older people and to facilitate “right of visitation” Relatives in nursing homes after the trauma suffered by many families during the Covid-19 crisis, emphasized the Minister of Solidarity, Aurore Bergé.

It is also the goal “Make your daily work easier” Domestic help via a professional card. At the end of the day, deputies approved an article to pay annual financial support to departments to cover the transportation costs of home help professionals.

Financial support for mobility

Contrary to the government’s advice, the MPs adopted an amendment by Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet (Renaissance) to make the financial mobility assistance granted by the state to departments, which allows travel time counted as working time, subject to a condition that it be extended for a duration of less than thirty minutes (compared to less than fifteen minutes).

The meeting also adopted a government proposal to allow ministries to experiment with funding budget support in packages rather than the prevailing hourly rate. The idea is to better take into account certain costs that have not yet been taken into account.

On this occasion, Aurore Bergé announced the launch of an information mission to organize and finance household help. While the opposition largely voted in favor of the measure, they collectively criticized the lack of announcements about it ” means “ assigned. “If you don’t answer the question “how much,” it’s in vain.”launched by François Ruffin.

Management of nursing homes

The question of financing a comprehensive age reform weighed on the debates. When debates resumed on Monday, Aurore Bergé insisted “An additional 100 million euros” Arrows for “Mobility assistance for household helpers”.

“These are crumbs”replied François Ruffin. “In order to finance the age reform, it will be necessary to increase compulsory contributions”Jérôme Guedj (PS) also warned.

In the evening, the Assembly also adopted consensual measures so that a larger share of funding for nursing homes can go to the prevention of loss of autonomy or malnutrition, as well as to physical activities or cognitive stimulation.

But the Left is calling for a comprehensive reform of nursing homes; the rest should be borne by the residents and their families. A socialist amendment passed with government support aims to prevent the silent renewal of care home licenses whose assessments have found problems.

MPs will continue to consider further nursing home amendments on Tuesday aimed at drawing lessons from the Orpea scandal.

A more “ambitious” program law

On Friday, by presenting a government strategy to tackle the aging of the population, the minister responded to one of the recurring demands of the text’s critics by announcing a future more ambitious program law on aging. On Monday she continued to plead “a text written jointly with all political groups”.

Questions also arise for the majority. “Did we really need it?” of this bill “A great law of programming? Not many people understand much about it.”said Bruno Millienne (MoDem).

This program law, promised by Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of his first five-year term and demanded by industry professionals, was unanimously requested by the Assembly in April.

She “will establish a framework, goals and financing arrangements to be achieved by 2030”, said the minister. By 2030, one in three French people will be over 60 years old. And there will be more people over 65 than under 15.