Business creation assistance (Acre) under scrutiny by the Court of Auditors

In 2024, this scheme, which consists of an exemption from social security contributions for one year for business creators or buyers, cost the State 408 million euros in compensation for this shortfall in Social Security revenue.

The Court of Auditors points to an "unstable system", which has seen "successive and contradictory" movements between broadening and narrowing the scope of aid, initially reserved for unemployed people creating or taking over businesses, then opened up in 2019 to all creators before narrowing again recently.

This fluctuation can be seen in the figures: "budgetary expenditure thus fell from 736 million euros in 2020 to 370 in 2023 before rising again to 408 in 2024," the Court notes in its report.

While it judges that "business creations aided by Acre have a slightly higher probability of survival" than others, the report also indicates that the scheme "appears lost in a thicket of aid", to the point that beneficiaries do not always know that they can benefit from it.

The Court also points to a "fragmented management" between the General Delegation for Employment and Vocational Training (DGEFP) and the Social Security Directorate (DSS).

The financial magistrates also note that the successive changes to the Acre have complicated the forecasts of its cost: thus, 452 million euros were planned in the 2024 budget, compared to 408 million actually spent.

Another criticism: despite the obligation, since 2022, to evaluate all measures reducing Social Security revenues, no evaluation of the Acre has been carried out, "the exemptions of the largest amounts having been prioritized".

The Court is therefore considering, at worst, an immediate abolition of the Acre, which would generate annual savings of around 410 million euros.

A second scenario, "which would be preferred by the administrations managing the scheme, as well as by the Court", would consist of evaluating the impact of Acre no later than 2027, and then deciding its fate.

If the aid were to be retained, the magistrates stressed, it should be refocused "on job seekers only" and be accompanied by a support program for the beneficiary.