The situation of the basic income movement has evolved a lot recently. These slides presented at a conference in Berlin attempt to summarize the situation in France in 2013.

1. The Basic Income Movement in France:
From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
Coordinator of the French Movement for a basic
income
stanjourdan@revenudebase.info
@stanjourdan
revenudebase.info

2. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
Basic Income in France
Some historical facts
●
1930s : Jacques Duboin, distributive economy
●
1970s : Yoland Bresson
●
1980s : Foundation of AIRE and BIEN
●
1990s : Revue MAUSS, unemployment movement, André Gorz,
Jean-Marc Ferry...
●
2000s : Basic Income disappears
●
2006 : Christine Boutin (Christian Democrats) proposes a law bill
●
2009 : Launch of a petition website for 'life income'
●
2011 : Villepin, POURS Collective
●
2012-13 : New network for basic income

3. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
The Basic Income Movement in France
in early 2012

4. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
Financing Basic Income in France
Some key facts
Source: Marc de Basquiat
allocationuniverselle.com
The existing redistribution in
France already gives
400€/adult on average

5. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
The failure of minimum income

6. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
The failure of minimum income
●
Reasons why people don't claim for the
minimum income in France :
– Don't know how to claim for it (30%)
– Think they are excluded (30%)
– Stigma effect (25%)
– Have others means of survival (25%)
– Lack of time (11%)

7. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
Financing Basic Income in France
Key facts
●
Ineffcient employement measures cost = 70bn
●
Fiscal privileges = 60bn
●
20% Flat tax on all income = 260bn
●
1% Tax on net assets = 50bn
●
Main drivers of healthcare defcit : overmedication +
work stoppage (how would a basic income help?)
●
Consumption tax (VAT) is the most controversial in
France (a realistic political pathway?)

8. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
Financing Basic income in France
Others proposals for fnancing basic
income
– Further fscal & social reforms (Ferry,
Marseille, Mylondo)
– Ecological / Financial taxes (Mylondo,
Moulier-Boutang)
– Money creation (Bresson, Laborde)
– Local currencies (Lepesant, Bosqué)

9. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
Basic Income in politics
Support from the party base
Support from the party leadership
●

10. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
The European initiative
A trigger for the
movement in France

11. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
What we achieved in one year
July 2012 : We created a new website that is now a
reference on the topic of basic income

12. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
What we achieved in one year
We reach the attention of 10k+ people every month

13. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
What we achieved in one year
We use online tools to
connect people offline
More than 20 local
groups were created in
less than one year

14. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
What we achieved in one year
May 2013 : First major media coverage

15. The Basic Income Movement in France: From grass-root renewal to the political action
Stanislas Jourdan
Next challenges for the French
Movement
●
Create a common
framework for
implementation scenarios
●
Gain more explicit support
from the civil society
●
Keep on building the
network online/offine

16. « We need to build an irresistible pressureon the
dominant forces to make them accept the idea
that Labor does not mean only paid work. Other
activities are equally productive and enriching for
humans »
André Gorz, 1990
stanjourdan@revenudebase.info
@stanjourdan
revenudebase.info