Can an expatriate receive unemployment benefits?
An employee subject to French law who has lost their job is eligible for unemployment benefits only if they return to France. To be eligible, they must be able to prove that they have been residing in France on a regular basis and that the primary focus of their interests is also in France.
The agreements regularly signed between employers and unions to establish the rules for unemployment benefits stipulate that this assistance is reserved for individuals residing in France, as the Court of Cassation has reiterated.
A senior executive, who had been laid off while stationed in Asia for several years, decided not to return to France. Due to his circumstances, he had received re-employment assistance benefits and found a new job three years later, after exhausting the maximum benefit period. However, Pôle Emploi subsequently demanded that he repay nearly 170,000 euros in benefits, as he did not meet the eligibility requirements for those benefits.
The judges noted that, on the one hand, he resided abroad and could not demonstrate regular presence in France, and, on the other hand, the main center of his interests was no longer in France. However, to be eligible for these benefits, one must have a stable and actual residence in France.
The Court of Cassation confirmed that the benefits paid over a three-year period were therefore received in error and had to be repaid.
