In Réunion, elected officials take to the streets to protest against cuts in state funding for subsidized contracts

Several dozen elected officials from different political backgrounds demonstrated on Wednesday, May 20, in front of the prefecture of La Réunion, in Saint-Denis, to protest against the significant decrease in state funding allocated to financing subsidized contracts, which particularly affects the island.

The gathering, which drew several hundred people, brought together 330 according to the prefecture and 700 according to the organizers. Around twenty elected officials were received at the prefecture to deliver a motion highlighting the consequences of this decline.

The reason is the announced decrease in the number of skills-based employment pathway contracts (PEC), a scheme aimed at promoting integration by financially assisting communities and associations that hire people seeking employment.

On May 5, the prefect of Reunion Island, Patrice Latron, announced to the mayors a drastic reduction in funding for this scheme, even though the island benefits from 25% of the national funds dedicated to the PEC.

Only 4.000 PEC contracts are planned in Réunion for the year 2026, compared to 10.000 in 2025. State support has been set at 40% of the minimum wage and for a period of six months, compared to 50% and ten months in 2025.

These announcements sparked outrage among mayors, who were quickly joined by Huguette Bello, the regional president, and Cyrille Melchior, president of the departmental council. They all denounced the move as a devastating blow, especially given that the unemployment rate in Réunion was projected to reach 20% in 2025 according to INSEE, and that 36% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Several mayors have indicated that they cannot guarantee a smooth start to the next school year. In municipalities, staff hired on PEC contracts are primarily assigned to school services and the maintenance of public spaces.

"Out of a total of 1.600 staff in Le Tampon, there are 800 PEC contracts, or 50% of the employees," explained Alexis Chaussalet, LFI mayor of this southern municipality of the island, on Wednesday.

"We must fight. This fight is just, it is the fight for dignity through work," commented Ericka Bareigts, the Socialist mayor of Saint-Denis.

When questioned on Tuesday by Réunion MP Frédéric Maillot, the Minister of Labour, Jean-Pierre Farandou, explained that "Réunion is the territory which benefits the most from this mechanism" and said he had given the prefect "full freedom of action in the allocation of credits from the Employment Inclusion Fund" to possibly deploy them towards PECs.