UE: Paris and London: two models face to face

Here in Paris. To listen to Emmanuel Verny, general secretary of Una ? Union nationale de l?aide, des soins et des services aux domiciles, one would say that there is not a great difference between the Italian and French third sectors. Monsieur Verny?s audience is, however, neither Vilma Maxxocco nor Maria Guidotti but Paul Palmer from the Cass Business School, The Children?s Trust director Andrew Ross, and Pat Armstrong from the Scottish association Acosovo, as well as other directors from other organizations. Verny?s facts and figures seem to entice the curiosity of the English representatives: 1,200 associations in France?s number one third sector federation providing services to 780 thousand families (the preferred terminology in France is ?social economy?). However it is not so much the mention of the 120 thousand employees or the 10 thousand volunteers nor is it the two billion euro turnover of the French third sector that surprises the English present, but rather it is their style. The French talk about mutual aid companies as if they were an alternative to companies based on the capitalist model. The English, on the other hand use the term client fearlessly, making no distinction between user, patient, member, consumer or citizen. Jean-Philippe Poulnot is the director of Research and development of Chèques Dejuner; a company with a turnover of 2,1 billion euros who have 115 thousand clients, 30 member companies and 1,110 employees. He had to face the task of explaining what cooperatives are, and how Chèques Dejuner was able to become so big by managing restaurant tickets and offering a number of other services. Jean-Philippe Huchet, the general secretary of Mgen – Mutuelle générale de l?éducation nationale , on the other hand, described a concept that in the U.K is not known but that in France has more than two million members, that of mutual aid societies. All this is to explain to our friends across the Channel about a sector that on its own represents 10% of Frances GDP, that suffers a generational change and that during the next presidential elections will fight, on both the left and the right, to achieve the maximum. The secretary general of the Ligue de l?ensegnement, Jean-marc Roirant, summarizes the French situation as follows : ? While in the U.K the third sector is thought to be an unprofitable, marginal and risky part of the market, in France the social economy must hold its own against the fiercely competitive private, for-profit economy which has realized that there is money to be made in the third sector. Take note! Ours is first and foremost an alternative political project, we may collaborate with capitalist companies, but let them take our place, jamais.? Here in London ?If it is true that the famous Charitable Uses Act dated 1601 is charities first document, then we should thank William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy and King of England from 1066 onwards, for it was he who created the first foundation!? This is how Clare Thomas, the director of Funds at the Bridge House Trust, stretches her hand to her French counterparts and grants them the merit for having started the not-for-profit sector in Europe. But, niceties apart, there is a rather large gap between charities and social enterprise on the one hand, and associationism and mutual aid societies on the other. While the first two are created by initiatives made up by few people or by large capitals and have no need for internal elections, associationism and mutual aid societies are models that have a history, especially a political history that inherently binds them to the democratic process. While charities and social enterprises are permeable at all levels, the French models are conservative and hierarchical: one enters if one shares the political project. ?From 1991 to 2004 the number of charities in England has almost doubled? continues Ms Thomas, ? from 98 thousand to 169 thousand, with a turnover of about 100 billion?. With a smile and in one sentence she highlights that while political differences are interesting, economic considerations seem to favour the English approach. French associationism has in fact recently had to fight to save an undersecretary with delegation of powers over the third sector, while Tony Blair nominated Hilary Armstrong minister of Social Exclusion and Ed Miliband minister for the Third Sector. Ms Thomas claims that in England over 13% of charities exceeded the two million euro return mark. And that 51% of their takings are from private sources, while the remaining 38% are from the state. The greatest surprise, however, comes from the new forms of social enterprise. In England, where there are few co-operatives and no mutual aid societies, social enterprises have become firms in the true sense of the word. Allison Ogden-Newton, SocialEnterpriseLondon?s CEO, says that ?they are firms whose primary goal is a social one, where utilities are reinvested into the company?s objectives?. In the UK there are 15 thousand of them, they generate a turnover equal to 39 billion euros and employ 7.3 % of the work force. All together an excellent economic model to follow. www.acevo.org.uk www.laligue.org