The Minister of Community Life defends the role of associations in the face of criticism of their cost
Quick Look
The Minister responsible for Associative Life, Marina Ferrari, responded to accusations concerning the cost of associations for public finances, emphasizing their contribution to social cohesion and local economic activity, after a report in the Journal du Dimanche citing tens of billions of euros "gobbled up" by the associative sector.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
A file published in the Journal du Dimanche, based on figures from the Hexagone observatory supported by Pierre-Édouard Stérin, claimed that tens of billions of euros were “gobbled up” by the associations, provoking defensive reactions from members of the government and the National Assembly.
The Minister in charge of Community Life stepped up to the plate on Saturday to defend associations, which “participate in our social cohesion” and “bring local economic activity”, in response to accusations about their cost for public finances.
“It’s dangerous to put a veil of suspicion over the associative world,” says Marina Ferrari, in an interview posted online by Ouest-France, a week after the publication in the Journal du Dimanche of a file on the management of associations. The weekly, relying on figures from the “Hexagone” observatory, financially supported by the conservative billionaire Pierre-Édouard Stérin, had reported tens of billions which would be “gobbled up by associations”.
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“Social cohesion” and “local economic activity”
The minister notes “shortcuts” concerning the presentation of figures which are public, according to her. “We know what we are distributing and we check what these funds are used for,” she emphasizes. “What should we say to home support associations in rural areas? “You are of no use, you are swallowing up public money”? While they provide a service to the elderly. What should you say to a sports club that receives funding from its city? (...) Haro on the Restaurants du Cœur, haro on Secours populaire, haro on Secours catholique?”, she said. Associations, she recalls, “participate in our social cohesion” and “bring local economic activity”.
During the week, the president of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet had already been moved by the front page of the JDD. “At Restos du Coeur, where I was a volunteer and manager of a center, I never had the feeling of 'swallowing up' money,” she wrote on the LinkedIn network.
Referring to the “13 million volunteers and 1.9 million employees” of the associations, she stressed that they represented “51 billion euros in payroll, therefore jobs which support families and territories”. “It is also this reality that the word ‘engloutis’ erases,” she noted. “Of course, every public euro must be used wisely. But to believe that this money is lost, without looking at what it allows, is to prepare people's minds to eliminate this support. The needs will not disappear,” she added.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The government could strengthen control and transparency mechanisms on the use of subsidies to associations.
Possible · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What is the exact amount of public funding intended for associations according to official data?
- Does the Hexagone observatory regularly publish analyzes on the voluntary sector?
- What are the specific economic and social rewards of public funding for rural associations?
