French 'Sécu' in English
Last Wednesday my studies of the final painful hours of Oscar Wilde’s life in Paris were interrupted by a telephone call from a lady so cheerful that she could have raised Lazarus from the dead. She was calling from a Paris office of the French Sécu -- the French national health insurance system.
Up until then my quest for a clear, user-friendly explanation of how it all works, presentable to SOAF, had come up against a series of obstacles, not least of which proved to be AGESSA, the health security organisation designed specifically for professional authors in France. To my question as to whether somebody in his association could explain to a nice group of British authors the Man From AGESSA bluntly answered: ‘We don’t give explanations.’ There followed a pregnant silence. Then: ‘Just send your members in to open up their dossiers and we will do what is necessary.’ I was about to ask why they should bother to open those enigmatic, multi-coloured dossiers when a prolonged expiring sound -- like Oscar’s death rattle -- came down the phone line: I had, apparently, not completed this year’s ‘blue form’ correctly. The ‘blue form’ is the thing you fill out each year to reveal the riches earned from your latest bestsellers. Obviously I had caught AGESSA at a sore moment and I turned elsewhere.
The call I got on Wednesday was in response to a letter I had sent to the Department of International Relations at the national headquarters of the Sécurité Sociale, which sits in Paris's Twelfth Arrondissement. I had not expected an answer and was surprised at the wealth of information this lovely person passed on to me. I am now convinced that SOAF’s request last October for a presentation on the Sécu will be realised some time in the New Year -- well, let’s say, around March.
Among the useful bits of information I received are two websites, both available in English, that present in a clear, Cartesian fashion, a history and the Sécu 's general workings -- including organigrams of rather fantastic design. Like Britain’s NHS, the French Sécu is a religious system born out of the aftermath of the Second World War, which excites emotions of varying intensities. But it also offers some very real services. The first site, www.adecri.org , was set up by an association that is specifically designed for foreigners; ADECRI has apparently a full-time time team of experts whom I am quite sure will respond to our requests -- you can of course contact them directly through this site.
The second site, www.protectionsocialefrancaise.org , was also created by ADECRI and it outlines the history of the Sécu, its benefits, its mutuelles and the way it is organised locally. I find it a little weak on authors’ problems. But as a general introduction to the system it would be hard to better. From the site you can download a 55-page booklet, The French Social Protection System. It’s the best piece of literature I have yet come across on the operations of the French Sécu.
Naturally, we will continue in our quest for clear guides on the Sécu. In the meantime, I do encourage you all to consult these two sites. If you have any suggestions or information to share with us, do let us know.
Up until then my quest for a clear, user-friendly explanation of how it all works, presentable to SOAF, had come up against a series of obstacles, not least of which proved to be AGESSA, the health security organisation designed specifically for professional authors in France. To my question as to whether somebody in his association could explain to a nice group of British authors the Man From AGESSA bluntly answered: ‘We don’t give explanations.’ There followed a pregnant silence. Then: ‘Just send your members in to open up their dossiers and we will do what is necessary.’ I was about to ask why they should bother to open those enigmatic, multi-coloured dossiers when a prolonged expiring sound -- like Oscar’s death rattle -- came down the phone line: I had, apparently, not completed this year’s ‘blue form’ correctly. The ‘blue form’ is the thing you fill out each year to reveal the riches earned from your latest bestsellers. Obviously I had caught AGESSA at a sore moment and I turned elsewhere.
The call I got on Wednesday was in response to a letter I had sent to the Department of International Relations at the national headquarters of the Sécurité Sociale, which sits in Paris's Twelfth Arrondissement. I had not expected an answer and was surprised at the wealth of information this lovely person passed on to me. I am now convinced that SOAF’s request last October for a presentation on the Sécu will be realised some time in the New Year -- well, let’s say, around March.
Among the useful bits of information I received are two websites, both available in English, that present in a clear, Cartesian fashion, a history and the Sécu 's general workings -- including organigrams of rather fantastic design. Like Britain’s NHS, the French Sécu is a religious system born out of the aftermath of the Second World War, which excites emotions of varying intensities. But it also offers some very real services. The first site, www.adecri.org , was set up by an association that is specifically designed for foreigners; ADECRI has apparently a full-time time team of experts whom I am quite sure will respond to our requests -- you can of course contact them directly through this site.
The second site, www.protectionsocialefrancaise.org , was also created by ADECRI and it outlines the history of the Sécu, its benefits, its mutuelles and the way it is organised locally. I find it a little weak on authors’ problems. But as a general introduction to the system it would be hard to better. From the site you can download a 55-page booklet, The French Social Protection System. It’s the best piece of literature I have yet come across on the operations of the French Sécu.
Naturally, we will continue in our quest for clear guides on the Sécu. In the meantime, I do encourage you all to consult these two sites. If you have any suggestions or information to share with us, do let us know.
posted by SOAF Chairman at 12:43 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home