The National Assembly votes on a text to simplify the international mobility of apprentices

Its author Sylvain Maillard (Renaissance) welcomed a "strong symbol" for youth, the Minister Delegate for Vocational Education and Training Carole Grandjean also supporting a text "pragmatic, effective, to remove the last brakes" to mobility.

Emmanuel Macron has set the goal that half of an age group can have spent, before their 25th birthday, at least six months abroad.

The Erasmus+ European exchange program has estimated the number of mobile work-study students at 10.000 in 2022. Unlike those for students, exchanges of apprentices, who have an employment contract with an employer, come up against the rights of the very different work from one Member State to another concerning work-study students.

In France, the Labor Code, for example, prevents an employer from letting his apprentice leave for more than four weeks, except to suspend his employment contract, an insufficient period to fully benefit from an experience abroad.

The bill creates a right of option for the company: putting the contract on hold, the employer's liability then being lifted; or made available to the work-study student by the company, with maintenance of his responsibility and remuneration.

The text also intends to guarantee all young people on the move a base for financing their social protection, with contributions having to be borne on a mandatory basis by training organizations or apprentice training centers, when the contract is suspended by the 'employer.

All the political groups supported the proposal of the presidential camp, apart from the LFI group which criticized an "injunction to mobility" and raised the subjects of scholarships, the safety of apprentices and even their qualification.

The rapporteur Mr. Maillard was surprised, recalling that the leader of the rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon had been Minister of Vocational Education. On the other hand, he welcomed the favorable vote of the RN group: "it seemed to me that you wanted to close the borders!"

Speaker RN Victor Catteau stressed that apprentices could "acquire linguistic and professional skills" abroad, and hoped for the creation of an "Erasmus de la francophonie".

The bill, validated by 65 votes against 7, must now be examined by the Senate.