Social insurance and the delivery of social services in France

An outline of the organization of the French social insurance and the social service delivery system is given. It is shown that the social insurance system, more so than in most other welfare states, strongly reflects various class and occupational interests. Therefore, it is also more prone to conflict along class lines, while other countries' social insurance systems tend to blurr class conflict. In addition, problems due to demographic shifts and economic changes are discussed and the populations affected, particularly the aged, identified. Some of the government's strategies to ameliorate the financial problems of the social insurance system are mentioned. The social service delivery system is found to suffer from bureaucratization and inefficiency. In order to correct this and to improve the quality of services, France has begun to decentralize the social service delivery system. There is little evidence, though, that decentralization, as presently practiced, is able to significantly improve the appropriateness of social services and increase the efficiency with which they are delivered. On the contrary, the political forces opposed to an elaborate welfare state tend to be strengthened. No doubt, the aged would also be affected by such political changes.