French Left-Wing Party Proposes Restoring Elderly Allowance for Retired Algerian Migrants

The parliamentary group of La France Insoumise (LFI) in the French National Assembly has proposed examining the possibility of allowing retired Algerian migrants, commonly known as chibanis, to once again receive the Solidarity Allowance for the Elderly (Allocation de solidarité aux personnes âgées, or ASPA), even if they return to live in their countries of origin.

The proposal is set out in Amendment No. 1800, submitted by LFI to France’s 2027 Social Security Financing Bill. Signed by 73 MPs from the left-wing party, the amendment was reviewed by Echorouk.

The initiative primarily targets Algerian workers who migrated to France in previous decades and worked in various sectors before reaching retirement age, as well as elderly migrants from other Maghreb countries who experienced similar circumstances.

The lawmakers are calling for a government report to assess whether this group could be allowed to continue receiving the benefit after leaving France and settling in their countries of origin. The aim is to restore access to the allowance for retired migrants known as chibanis, many of whom belong to the first generation of immigrants who arrived in France from Algeria and elsewhere in the Maghreb during the post-war economic boom known as the Trente Glorieuses (the “Thirty Glorious Years”), which lasted from 1945 to 1975. They came to meet the country’s labour needs, particularly in construction and public works, industry and agriculture.

LFI noted that these workers are now elderly and that some wish to spend their retirement in their home countries. However, according to the amendment’s sponsors, the eligibility requirements for the Solidarity Allowance for the Elderly prevent many of them from doing so.

Under the proposal, the French government would be required to submit a report to parliament within six months of the law’s promulgation. The report would assess the implementation of the amended 2023 Social Security Financing Law, examine the possibility of lifting the French residency requirement for the allowance, estimate the financial implications of such a measure and identify mechanisms that would enable eligible retirees to retain their entitlement while living outside France.

The proposed framework would apply to migrant workers who have legally resided in France for at least 15 years and paid contributions to one of the country’s compulsory pension insurance schemes. The government report would specifically examine whether payments could continue after these retirees return to their countries of origin.

The amendment’s sponsors argue that the requirement to spend most of the year in France places the retirees concerned in a difficult position: they must either remain in France, away from their families, to preserve their benefits or return home and risk losing them.

They also point out that some of these elderly migrants continue to live in residential facilities intended for migrant workers, often in what the lawmakers describe as difficult conditions, while their families remain in their countries of origin.

The sponsors maintain that these workers contributed to the French economy throughout their working lives and paid taxes and social security contributions. They argue that allowing them to spend their retirement close to their families while retaining a minimum level of financial support warrants an examination of the rules governing the allowance.

The amendment, which remains under consideration, does not call for the immediate abolition of the residency requirement. Instead, it seeks a detailed government assessment of the potential financial burden of such a change. Its sponsors say restrictions on the admissibility of financial amendments prevented them from proposing the immediate removal of the requirement as part of the Social Security Financing Bill.