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The gazetteUnemployment · 1 September 2026

Unemployment benefit in France in 2026: how the ARE is calculated, how long it lasts, tapering and the negotiated-departure cap

By the AlphaDeep legal editorial teamPublished Drafted with AI assistance, references last checked: our method

French unemployment benefit (ARE) is, per day and before tax, the higher of 40.4% of the daily reference wage plus €13.18 and 57% of that wage, between €32.13 and 75% of the wage, €300.21 at most; it is paid on 30 days a month. In the ordinary mainland regime, duration applies a 0.75 coefficient, 548 days at most under 55; after a negotiated departure (rupture conventionnelle) ending from 1 September 2026, it is capped at 456 days.

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How much unemployment benefit will you get, and for how long?

For continuous full-time mainland work and an ordinary non-seasonal profile with ARE rights opened in the last 20 years, give gross monthly salary, age, months of employment and the contract end: the gazette estimates the benefit and applies the cap of 1 September 2026. The example: €3,000 a month, under 55, 24 months, a negotiated departure ending on 31 October 2026.

Fictional example · gazette of your benefit

€1,686.60 gross a month for 456 days at most, the negotiated-departure cap.

Daily reference wage, estimated
€98.63
Gross benefit per day
€56.22
Gross benefit per month, 30 days
€1,686.60
Maximum benefit duration
456 days
Duration after a negotiated departure, before and after the reform

Contract ending until 31 August 2026

  • Negotiated departure: ordinary duration, 548 days at most under 55
  • Benefit: 40.4% of the wage + €13.18, or 57%
  • Tapering from day 183 under 55

Contract ending since 1 September 2026

  • Negotiated departure: 456 days at most under 55, 624 from 55
  • Amounts unchanged, no uprating on 1 July 2026
  • Extension possible from 55

Applicable provisions

In view of your situation, the Labour Code and the unemployment insurance rules:

  1. Estimated daily reference wage: €3,000.00 × 12 ÷ 365 = €98.63, for continuous full-time work; France Travail works it out on your actual pay.
  2. Benefit: the higher of 40.4% of the daily wage + €13.18 (€53.03) and 57% (€56.22), between €32.13 and 75% of the daily wage, €300.21 at most: €56.22 gross a day (Unédic).
  3. Payment: 30 daily benefits a month since 1 April 2025, that is €1,686.60 gross, less days of resumed work or illness (France Travail).
  4. Benefit below €92.57 a day: no tapering (France Travail).
  5. Ordinary mainland-profile duration: 730 days of employment × 0.75, that is 548 days, between 182 days and the cap of 548 days at your age (France Travail).
  6. Negotiated departure and a contract ending from 1 September 2026: duration capped at 456 days (avenant n° 2 of 10 April 2026; Labour Code, article L5422-2).
  7. Amounts unchanged since 2025: Unédic did not uprate benefits on 1 July 2026.

Scope: continuous full-time work in mainland France, non-seasonal, with ARE rights opened in the last 20 years. This does not establish eligibility. Seasonal rights and, for contract ends from 1 April 2026, no opening in the last 20 years may have a 152-day minimum; overseas rules differ. France Travail determines your actual rights (duration page).

How is the ARE amount calculated?

From the daily reference wage, worked out on the pay of the reference period, the gross daily benefit is the higher of 40.4% of that wage plus €13.18 and 57% of that wage. It cannot be below €32.13, unless that minimum exceeds 75% of the daily wage, nor above 75% of that wage and €300.21 a day (Unédic).

Since 1 April 2025, the monthly payment is 30 daily benefits, whatever the number of days in the month, less days of resumed work or illness (France Travail). The right requires being fit for work, looking for a job and having lost one in a case provided for by law (Labour Code, article L5422-1).

Sources: Unédic, benefit amount · France Travail, 1 April 2025 · Labour Code L5422-1

Summary card: French unemployment benefit in 2026, the higher of 40.4% of the daily reference wage plus €13.18 and 57%, between €32.13 and €300.21 a day, paid on 30 days; 456 days at most after a negotiated departure ending from 1 September 2026.
French unemployment benefit: the calculation and durations in 2026.

How long does the benefit last?

The duration is worked out on the days of employment in the reference period, with non-worked days limited, then multiplied by 0.75; the ordinary minimum is 182 calendar days. It is 152 days for rights based on seasonal contracts, or no rights opened within the last 20 years if the contract ends from 1 April 2026. It is capped at 548 days under 55, 685 days at 55 or 56 and 822 days from 57, or 730, 913 and 1,095 days with an end-of-training or end-of-rights supplement (France Travail).

The 0.75 coefficient does not apply to residents of Réunion, Guadeloupe, Guyane, Martinique, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Barthélemy or Saint-Martin when the benefit-opening conditions are examined; Mayotte has separate rules. These durations take account of age and past work, and may now take account of a negotiated departure (Labour Code, article L5422-2).

Sources: France Travail, duration · Labour Code L5422-2

What changes after a negotiated departure?

A negotiated departure gives a right to the benefit (article L5422-1, 2°). For a contract ending from 1 September 2026, the maximum duration is 456 days under 55 and 624 days from 55, or 608 and 913 days for a claimant living overseas, excluding Mayotte (avenant n° 2 of 10 April 2026).

From 55, the claimant can ask for an extension, granted in view of their actual steps to return to work (avenant n° 2). A legitimate resignation or a dismissal keeps the ordinary duration.

Sources: Labour Code L5422-1 · Unédic, avenant n° 2 · Order of 19 June 2026

When does the benefit go down?

Tapering concerns claimants under 55 whose benefit exceeds €92.57 a day, that is a daily reference wage above €162.40, about €4,939.67 a month. From day 183, the benefit falls by 30% at most, never below €92.57 a day, that is €2,777.10 a month (France Travail).

Some training periods delay tapering (France Travail).

Source: France Travail, tapering

What has changed for French unemployment insurance since 2025?

The 2024 agreement, its adjustments and the negotiated-departure cap.

  1. The unemployment insurance agreement of 15 November 2024, approved by the order of 19 December 2024, starts to apply (Labour Code, article L5422-20).

    Sources: Order of 19 December 2024 · Labour Code L5422-20

  2. The benefit is paid on 30 days every month, whatever the month; the age thresholds for durations move to 55 and 57, and tapering only concerns people under 55 (France Travail).

    Sources: France Travail, 1 April 2025 · France Travail, tapering

  3. The law allows the benefit duration to take account of a negotiated departure (Labour Code, article L5422-2).

    Sources: Labour Code L5422-2 · Labour Code L5422-1

  4. No uprating: with no majority on the Unédic board, the fixed part stays at €13.18 and the minimum at €32.13 a day (Unédic).

    Source: Unédic, July 2026

  5. After an individual negotiated departure, the maximum duration becomes 456 days under 55 and 624 days from 55, 608 and 913 days overseas, excluding Mayotte, for contracts ending from that date (avenant n° 2 of 10 April 2026, order of 19 June 2026).

    Sources: Unédic, avenant n° 2 · Order of 19 June 2026

What are the French unemployment insurance figures in 2026?

Ordinary mainland amounts and caps on 26 September 2026; duration exceptions are set out below.

French unemployment insurance: gross daily amounts and maximum durations, values applicable on 26 September 2026
ItemRuleValue
Formula A40.4% of the daily reference wage, plus a fixed part€13.18 fixed part
Formula B57% of the daily reference wageThe higher of the two formulas
MinimumUnless 75% of the daily wage is lower€32.13 a day
Maximum75% of the daily wage, and a ceiling€300.21 a day
PaymentEach month, whatever the month30 daily benefits
Minimum durationOrdinary regime; seasonal rights or no opening in 20 years with contract end from 1 April 2026182 days; 152 days in these exceptions
Maximum duration, under 55Without an end-of-training or end-of-rights supplement548 days
Maximum duration, 55 or 56Without an end-of-training or end-of-rights supplement685 days
Maximum duration, 57 and overWithout an end-of-training or end-of-rights supplement822 days
Negotiated departure, under 55Contract ending since 1 September 2026456 days
Negotiated departure, 55 and overContract ending since 1 September 2026624 days
TaperingUnder 55, from day 18330% at most, floor of €92.57

Gross amounts and ordinary mainland caps, kept on 1 July 2026 as there was no uprating; the seven territories listed in the duration answer do not apply the 0.75 coefficient; in Mayotte, the minimum benefit is €16.05 a day (Unédic).

Sources: Unédic, benefit amount · Unédic, July 2026 · France Travail, 1 April 2025 · France Travail, duration · Unédic, avenant n° 2 · France Travail, tapering

What does article L5422-2 of the Labour Code say?

The text that allows, since 13 June 2026, a duration specific to negotiated departures.

L’allocation d’assurance est accordée pour des durées limitées qui tiennent compte de l’âge des intéressés et de leurs conditions d’activité professionnelle antérieure. Ces durées peuvent également tenir compte, le cas échéant, du suivi d’une formation par les intéressés ou de ce que les intéressés relèvent du 2° du I de l’article L. 5422-1. Elles ne peuvent être inférieures aux durées déterminées par décret en Conseil d’État.

Article L5422-2 of the Labour Code (in French)Version in force on 26 September 2026 (in force since 13 June 2026)Read the article on Légifrance (in French)

In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): The insurance benefit is granted for limited durations that take account of the claimants’ age and their past working conditions. These durations may also take account, where relevant, of training followed by the claimants or of their falling under 2° of I of article L5422-1. They cannot be shorter than the durations set by decree in the Conseil d’État. Point 2° of I of article L5422-1 covers negotiated departures; avenant n° 2 of 10 April 2026 sets their maximum durations.

What do job seekers ask about their benefit in France?

Did French unemployment benefit rise on 1 July 2026?

No: no majority was found on the Unédic board, and the 2025 amounts are kept, including the €13.18 fixed part and the €32.13 daily minimum (Unédic).

How many daily benefits are paid each month?

30, whatever the number of days in the month, since 1 April 2025, less days of resumed work or illness (France Travail).

What is the maximum French unemployment benefit?

€300.21 gross a day, and never more than 75% of the daily reference wage (Unédic).

Is a negotiated departure signed in August 2026 capped at 456 days?

The cap targets contracts ending from 1 September 2026: the end date of the contract counts, not the signing date (avenant n° 2 of 10 April 2026).

Does resigning give a right to unemployment benefit?

Only in the cases of resignation that the unemployment insurance agreements treat as an involuntary loss of work (Labour Code, article L5422-1).

Which guides should you read about leaving a job in France?

Which texts and rules is this gazette based on?

  1. Labour Code, article L5422-1 (right to the insurance benefit)Légifrance, in French
  2. Labour Code, article L5422-2 (benefit durations)Légifrance, in French
  3. Labour Code, article L5422-20 (unemployment insurance agreements)Légifrance, in French
  4. Order of 19 December 2024 approving the unemployment insurance agreement of 15 November 2024Légifrance, Journal officiel, in French
  5. Order of 19 June 2026 approving avenant n° 2 of 10 April 2026Légifrance, Journal officiel, in French
  6. How much will my unemployment benefit be?Unédic, in French
  7. Unemployment insurance benefits: no uprating on 1 July 2026Unédic, in French
  8. Approval of avenant n° 2 to the 2024 unemployment insurance agreement, with the text of the avenantUnédic, in French
  9. Benefit taperingFrance Travail, in French
  10. How the benefit duration is setFrance Travail, in French
  11. New unemployment insurance agreement: what changed on 1 April 2025France Travail, in French

Texts cited last checked: 26 September 2026