How France Travail can help you find employment
The government agency offers a range of assistance, including grants and mobility support
Registration with France Travail is possible even for non-French workers, as long as you have a valid titre de séjour issued by France and which grants a right to work
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France Travail, the new name for Pôle Emploi, is the government agency with branches in many small towns charged with helping people get back to work.
Like much of the French government machinery, it is strongly directed towards laid-off salaried workers. However, it is also possible for independent workers, no matter what their status (auto-entrepreneur or entreprise individuelle, for example) to register if they are looking for work.
When offered an interview with one of the organisation’s councillors, you will need to explain why you are looking for a job – admitting your business is en perte de vitesse is an explanation they can work with.
Registration with France Travail is possible even for non-French workers, as long as you have a valid titre de séjour issued by France that grants a right to work.
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From grants to guidance
France Travail not only offers job-seekers support, guidance and access to job listings on its website, it can also help unlock various grants:
One of the most useful is subsidised travel to attend an interview, work experience (immersion professionelle), a concours de la fonction publique (including for EU jobs), professional exams, or a training scheme financed or partly financed by France Travail.
For temporary work, the length of the contract must be at least three months for the grant to be allowed.
Rates are set at €0.23 per km if travelling by car. If travelling by rail, you get a free return ticket with SNCF. Note, however, that you will still have to pay the reservation fee if travelling by TGV.
The interview or other reason for travelling must be at least 60km (or two hours) return from your home for the grant to kick in.
Childcare costs
Single parents with children under the age of 12, can also get childcare contributions from France Travail when they return to work.
The aide à la garde d'enfants pour parent isolé is €416 a week for the first child, then €62.40 for each subsequent one up to a total of €540, for people working between 15 and 35 hours a week. Smaller grants are available for people who work fewer hours.
Once you have been registered with France Travail for a continuous six-month period, you qualify for a €1,200 grant to get a driving licence.
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The money is paid directly to the driving school. You must register with the school and provide a detailed quote from them to apply for the grant.
Another grant helps people who are training or retraining. Called Rémunération de formation de France Travail, the grant varies according to your situation, from €220 to €756 per month, and can last for up to three years. The training must be approved by a France Travail councillor before it starts.
Help is also available if you find a job outside France, through the mobilité internationale service. This includes contributions to travel for job interviews, moving expenses or even to learn a foreign language.
In addition, grants are available to help repair your car so you can get to work, or to buy a mobile phone or computer if yours breaks down. A maximum of €528 can be claimed by job seekers who have had a “coup dur” which stops them looking for work.
Finally, youngsters aged 16 to 25 who are not students, not in training and have no work can claim up to €520 a month if they sign up to the Contrat Engagement Jeune. This starts by them working with associations specialising in insertion professionnelle.
