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Édouard Philippe presented this Wednesday, October 23 a plan for caregivers (illustration image). Yann COATSALIOU / AFP

France has 8 to 11 million carers, people caring for an elderly, disabled or sick relative. And with the aging of the population, their numbers will increase. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe presented a plan that will be put in place over three years to support them.

For Édouard Philippe, who was accompanied by the Secretary of State for People with Disabilities, Sophie Cluzel, and the Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn , this " first strategy ", with 400 million euros for the period 2020-2022 , must allow " to accompany those who help " and " basically, to change the look on them ".

The first goal of this plan is to break the isolation of caregivers. They are too often alone in the face of administrative complexities and do not always know their rights. By 2020, a national phone number will answer their questions.

Compensation in the event of loss of income

Another recurring difficulty is the loss of income. Many workers are forced to take unpaid leaves to care for their loved ones. Within a year, these leaves will be compensated. They will also be taken into account in the calculation of allowances for the unemployed and in the pension entitlement. " This is a symbolic first step very interesting but with 40 euros per working day over a month you are below the poverty line, says Olivier Morice, the general delegate of the association Je t'aide. It is very insufficient and far from needs . The idea is also to relax the rules of the company, to facilitate the transition to part time and the return to full time according to needs.

The last part of this plan, the protection of the health of carers subjected to severe test and allow them to take time for them, with for example the generalization of relays at home to leave a few days with confidence.

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The caregiver will finally be identified as such in his medical file, so that his care, in case of accident or illness, also includes the care of the person helped.