The solidarity day was established following the deadly heatwave of 2003. President Chirac and his government decided to sacrifice a public holiday to fund a National Solidarity Fund for the Autonomy (CNSA). This decision was made in response to the heatwave that resulted in the premature deaths of around 15,000 mostly elderly individuals. Jacques Chirac announced that the French would have to work an extra day to finance solidarity for the elderly. The government initially considered using VE Day, but ultimately chose Pentecost Monday as it was not a religious holiday and consistently fell on a weekday.
In 2004, a law was passed to formalize the solidarity day, stating that it aimed to finance actions for the autonomy of elderly and disabled individuals. This entailed an additional day of unpaid work for employees and a contribution from employers to fund the autonomy of these individuals. In the absence of an agreement, Pentecost Monday was designated as the solidarity day. In 2008, the law was amended, allowing companies to choose any day for employees to work to contribute to dependency funding, with the exception of certain religious holidays.
The flexible approach introduced in 2008 gave employers more freedom in their choice of how employees would contribute to the solidarity day. Some opted to remove a day of leave or reduce working hours, while others gave the day off to employees. Overall, employees were required to work 7 additional hours in the year without pay. The income generated from this initiative was achieved through employers contributing 0.3% of their payroll to the National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy.
Since 2013, retirees and disabled individuals subject to income tax have also been required to contribute 0.3% of their pensions towards funding dependents through the Additional Solidarity Contribution for the Economy (CASA). These contributions have totaled over 36 billion euros since the scheme was established in 2004. The funds are used to finance measures for the aging population and those in need of assistance and are overseen by the National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy.
In 2017, the National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy allocated 60% of the contributions from employees to elderly individuals and 40% to disabled individuals. The majority of these funds were directed towards specialized facilities such as nursing homes and institutes for the disabled, with the rest being distributed to local departments managing personalized autonomy allowances and compensation for disability. However, the Additional Contribution from retirees and pensioners has not been fully utilized, with a significant portion of the funds remaining unspent each year. Critics argue that these funds should be fully allocated to support elderly and disabled individuals rather than being diverted elsewhere.
