Revenu minimum d'insertion

The Revenu minimum d'insertion (RMI) is a French form of social welfare. It is aimed at people without any income who are of working age but don't have any other rights to unemployment benefit (e.g. contributions based unemployment benefit).

It was created in 1988 by Jean-Michel Belorgey by the government of Michel Rocard and aimed at helping the people who had the most problems with finding work.

Eligibility for RMI

The recipient of RMI must fulfil the following conditions:

• be older than 25 or have children;
• must commit to finding work within 3 months of the first payment of benefit;
• live in France and have proof of having lived there for a minimum of 5 years;
• not be a pupil, student, or in work experience;

Evolution of RMI

In 1994, the number of claimants of RMI was 783,443, in June 2004 it rose to 1,039,300.

In 2004, the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin created the Revenu minimum d'activité (RMA) which is designed to replace the RMI. The RMA enforces much more strictly the obligations of claimants to find work.

31 december 2005, 1 112 400 claimants of RMI