Jean-Claude Barbier and Matthias Knuth analyze the evolution of the French and German social protection ‘models’. They assess the reforms centred on assistance and unemployment insurance, while situating these in the dynamic of a fundamental reform that is disrupting social protection right across Europe: namely, the “activation of social protection”.
For the Dutch, the French social model seems particularly generous. However, no real comparison is possible if the facts are taken out of context. The understanding of the Dutch proverb ‘To live like God in France’ changes somewhat when we consider Antoine Bevort’s investigation of the differences between social relations in France and in the Netherlands.
