The new Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne. - Jacques Witt

Elisabeth Borne, the Minister of Labor, said on Tuesday on RTL that 25,000 checks on requests for partial unemployment had led to 1,400 "suspicions" of fraud. Around 700 companies are suspected of making false statements and as many of scams.

Partial unemployment fraud: 700 companies suspected out of the 25,000 checks carried out, announces Élisabeth Borne #RTLMatin https://t.co/B7bnxjq9Nf

- RTL France (@RTLFrance) July 28, 2020

Files have already been sent to justice, others will be. "We will send that to justice, we will be intractable with those who hijack the system," added the minister. 

Scams and false statements

Questioned by AFP, the Ministry of Labor distinguished two types of fraud: fraud (identity theft, fictitious companies) and false declarations (hours declared to be different from non-working hours, for example). Some checks have made it possible to regularize erroneous requests, the ministry said. "We do a lot of checks: we have already done 25,000, we will do 50,000 by the end of the summer," added the Minister.

A month ago, Muriel Pénicaud, then Minister of Labor, indicated that the first 3,000 checks on requests for partial unemployment had led to “850 suspicions of fraud” and four procedures for “fraud”.

Up to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros

From the confinement and to compensate for the resulting stoppage of activity, the government has broadened the possibility of resorting to partial unemployment in France. According to an estimate from the Ministry of Labor, 7.2 million French people were on short-time work one or more days a week in March, 8.8 million in April, 7.9 million in May and 4.5 in June.

In the event of fraud, the penalties range up to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros, and as regards administrative penalties, they provide for the reimbursement of aid and exclusion from the benefit of aid up to 5 years.

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