ONE’s main mission is to end extreme poverty and preventable diseases by 2030. To do so, countries have a powerful tool: official development assistance (ODA). Through grants, loans or other financial mechanisms, developed countries can help fund projects in developing countries to fight poverty, gender inequality and climate change.
In France, the State budget (also called the finance bill, or PLF) is debated and voted every year from October in the National Assembly. It is a crucial political moment when France’s various budget envelopes, and therefore its priorities for the coming year, are negotiated. Every year, we mobilise so that MPs support and vote for measures that improve French ODA. This year, as Youth Ambassadors, we mobilised online as part of the “Lobby Days” and went to meet our MPs to ask them to defend a more solidarity-driven French budget!
A “Robin Hood” tax?
French ODA is made up of various financial channels, including revenue from the financial transaction tax (FTT). This tax, nicknamed the “Robin Hood tax”, was designed as a solidarity tax aimed at correcting inequalities by taxing the “winners” of globalisation (here, the financial sector, which keeps growing over the years) to benefit the globalisation’s left-behind, namely the populations of developing countries. It is a way of making the financial sector contribute to the fight against extreme poverty.
Today, these inequalities are more glaring than ever. On the one hand, because of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme poverty is set to rise worldwide, for the first time since the 1990s. At the same time, while the French economy was heavily hit by lockdown, financial transactions kept increasing and are bringing in more than last year, despite the pandemic.
The FTT is therefore an effective tool for MPs to fight extreme poverty and promote tax justice. However, the FTT is currently under-used and does not reach its full potential. But by pulling certain parliamentary levers, it could be more ambitious and bring in much more funding for ODA.
As Ambassadors, we are on the case!
At ONE, we volunteered under the name of Ambassador to fight for more international solidarity. Our mission: relay ONE’s demands on the FTT to MPs, secure as many meetings as possible to exchange, debate and defend our positions, and encourage them to vote for amendments in favour of a more ambitious FTT.
To carry out our mission, we received internal training to better grasp the stakes of our campaigns and the golden rules for holding an effective and constructive advocacy meeting.
In just a few weeks, we contacted no fewer than 140 MPs from all political parties by email, phone and even on social networks! The result? 25 replies from interested MPs, 12 of which turned into meetings!
Our mobilisation as young activists does not stop there! Here is the debrief following our discussion with MP Eric Alauzet (in French):
That’s not all… Political advocacy, calling out on social media, testimonies in the media: we were active on every channel! We secured interviews with 7 regional media outlets (press, radio, and even television) to explain why we are engaged, why it matters to mobilise MPs on international solidarity issues, and what we expect next.
No change for the FTT, but other opportunities are coming
The FTT issue is meeting growing success among elected officials, and this year the mobilisation was unprecedented: 185 MPs co-signed amendments on the FTT! Unfortunately, these amendments were voted late at night and few MPs were present in the chamber to vote for them. Despite growing support in the Assembly, no FTT amendment was ultimately adopted. At a time when up to 115 million people could fall into extreme poverty in 2020 alone because of the consequences of COVID-19, the National Assembly missed the chance for a fairer and more solidarity-driven 2020 budget.
But we do not intend to give up so soon. In the coming months, MPs will have a new opportunity to mobilise for international solidarity. How? After examining the quantity of ODA in the budget, it will be time to discuss the quality of aid, with the passage of an international development law in the Assembly. It will be a chance to vote for French aid that is better targeted and more effective on the ground. We will answer the call once again. To be continued…