Paris (AFP)

Caregivers who support an elderly loved one, sick or disabled, will be able to benefit from a three-month indemnified leave: the National Assembly unanimously approved this measure on Friday, which will come into effect in October 2020.

The deputies adopted by 40 votes this key provision of the Draft Social Security Budget for 2020.

This three-month split leave for carers, self-employed and public officials will be compensated up to 43 euros per day for a caregiver, 52 euros for a single person. This amount is similar to that for sick leave.

The measure will cost 100 million euros in a full year.

Health Minister Agnès Buzyn said she was "very proud to carry this measure", which creates a "public policy dedicated to carers". But "we wear it with humility" because "it can not answer all situations," she said.

MEP LREM Annie Vidal also praised "one of the best measures" of the bill, which allows to "initiate the bill of old age and autonomy" to be presented in December.

All the political groups supported the measure, in particular the socialists who had created in 2016 when they were in power the leave of the caregiver, but not compensated.

According to official figures, 8.3 million people in France regularly help a loved one with a loss of autonomy. Nearly one in two is salaried, that is about four million people.

Through a government amendment, the Assembly removed the one-year seniority requirement in the company for the caregiver concerned.

Nathalie Elimas (MoDem) asked that the needs of carers be better assessed, which can be "punctual" as to accompany a medical visit, or over time. A government report will have to study them after one year of implementation of the indemnified scheme.

Paul Christophe (UDI-Agir), the author of a law authorizing the giving of leave to a colleague, successfully pleaded for an evaluation to be made of the situation of young caregivers.

In a statement, the leader of the Communist deputies André Chassaigne emphasized the commitment of his group on the subject of caregivers, through including a proposed law in 2018.

The planned indemnified leave "remains modest, but it is a new right, a social advance" which "calls for others" and "is not enough however to make acceptable this project of underfunding of the social security", has said Mr. Chassaigne.

© 2019 AFP