Overview
- Senators adopted the bill in first reading by 239 votes to 32, after the right and center toughened the text with broader investigatory powers and stiffer sanctions.
- Measures include new tools for France Travail to verify benefit recipients’ residence using phone records and the potential suspension of third‑party payment for those convicted of fraud.
- The package targets both social and tax fraud through enhanced information‑sharing and obligations on employers, with the executive citing expected 2026 recoveries ranging from €1.5 billion to more than €2 billion.
- Left parties condemned the approach as stigmatizing precarious people and warned of civil‑liberty risks, with Socialists largely abstaining and Communists and Greens voting against.
- Passage in the lower house is uncertain as budget negotiations falter, with even government‑aligned deputies signaling they will not back the revenue section of the 2026 state budget.