France will receive an additional €189.8 million under REACT-EU under the European Social Fund (ESF) to help workers and job seekers, support training and social inclusion and to achieve a sustainable socio-economic recovery.

he French national ESF program will receive €182.6 million to help workers and jobseekers most affected by the pandemic – in particular young people and vulnerable groups – to access and return to the market work. The national program will also provide training opportunities and support social inclusion.

The ESF Guyana program will also receive €7.2 million to reduce early school leaving and inequalities in education and training systems, and improve the resilience of businesses, social partners and other actors in the social economy sector.

The 2021 tranche of REACT-EU had allocated €40 billion to help member states recover from the pandemic, invest in the digital and green transition, and welcome and integrate people fleeing war in Ukraine. In addition, the Commission has paid €3.5 billion in pre-financing to Member States under REACT-EU since March 2022.

The most recent comprehensive package of measures entitled Flexible assistance to territories (FAST-CARE), proposed by the Commission, further extends support to Member States by providing additional flexibility in the financing of cohesion policy while increasing the pre-financing of an additional €3.5 billion to be paid in 2022 and 2023.

The eligibility deadline for expenditure under REACT-EU is 31 December 2023.