Many social facilities within the pink, the State guarantees a “financial gesture” | EUROtoday

“For years, social centers have been trying to make do with what they have, but now we have reached the end. There is no longer a single saving to be made”, laments Tarik Touahria, president of the Federation of Social and Sociocultural Centers of France (FCSF). Players within the sector are rising their alerts.

Thursday March 7, the Ministry of Labor, Health and Solidarity should announce a “financial gesture”, throughout a gathering which brings collectively the varied companions and funders. For the second, no quantity has been communicated. The FCSF, for its half, welcomes this announcement, however remembers that it requested an distinctive fund of 64 million euros.

Spread throughout the complete territory, these 2,373 native constructions, which provide social, cultural, instructional and household actions, are confronted with a major enhance in prices: inflation, rise in power costs, but in addition the entry into power, on 1^er January, of a brand new collective settlement which led to a wage enhance for workers.

Various financing

“A welcome and absolutely necessary increase in salaries to strengthen the attractiveness of our professions, recalls Mr. Touahria, but which led to an increase in the budget of social centers by 8%. Funding has not increased to meet our needs. Concretely, there are already centers which have had to close. »

Mainly financed by municipalities and intermunicipalities (41%), the National Family Allowance Fund (CNAF) – 30% – and the State (7%), the social centers therefore called for a “collective burst” and mobilized on January 31 throughout a nationwide motion. According to figures offered by the FCSF, in 2022, 637 constructions had a median deficit of 31,000 euros. A scenario which has additional deteriorated in 2023, assures the president, who nonetheless admits that this deficit might be, partially, compensated by a rise in funding for the CNAF.

“We negotiated with the State to have an increase in our funding to take into account inflation and salary increases, indicates Gaëlle Choquer-Marchand, deputy general director in charge of social and family policies at the CNAF. After an increase of 4% in 2023, our credit structures will make it possible to increase financing again, to the tune of 11% for 2024.”

“The challenge is that the other partners also increase their aid so that the budget progresses. Our effort must not result in a reduction in funding for others”provides M^me Shock-Merchant. But for the municipalities, that are struggling to make ends meet, it was as much as the State to make a monetary effort. “We are already at the bone”warns Gilles Leproust, president of the Association of metropolis and suburb mayors of France, invited to the assembly of March 7.

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