Solidaris, the socialist health insurance, has warned that the unemployment reform will hit already vulnerable households, with lone-parent families and older jobseekers among those most affected.
In a statement on Friday, the socialist mutual insurer said the changes risk worsening long-term poverty and health problems for thousands of people.
It said one in six people excluded from unemployment benefits heads a lone-parent family, even though lone parents make up just 5% of the working population.
In 85% of those cases, the parent is a single mother. Overall, 9,225 lone-parent families will lose their entitlement to unemployment benefits, according to Solidaris.
“Behind these figures are thousands of parents who risk losing their only income, and tens of thousands of children whose living conditions will be directly affected,” said Jean-Pascal Labille, secretary-general of Solidaris.
He added that an employment reform cannot ignore its social and health consequences.
Solidaris also said a large share of those excluded in wave four of the reforms, covering people unemployed for up to two years, are older jobseekers. More than a third of those excluded in that group are aged over 55, it said.
The mutual insurer said excluded people are, on average, older and in poorer health than the wider working population.
Among those affected by the first wave of exclusions, 28% suffer from cardiovascular problems, compared with 12% of the working population, it said.
They are also more likely to be affected by chronic illness, diabetes and mental health disorders, groups whose chances of returning to work are already the lowest, according to Solidaris.
The organisation called on the authorities to strengthen support for lone-parent families, improve access to housing, childcare places and healthcare, and tackle the failure to claim existing rights.
It said these steps were needed to prevent the reform from pushing thousands of families into lasting social decline.
