Important Clarification on French Social Security for Seafarers

Following a misleading announcement from Nice Matin on Monday evening, and a statement from ECPY, MYBA (The Worldwide Yachting Association) has provided clarification: Any modification will have to be made as part of the next social security finance law, to be voted before 31 December 2017 and until then the Decree remains in full force. Furthermore, this will now include private yachts as well as commercial vessels.

MYBA President, Fiona Maureso, has issued the following statement:

"You may have seen or heard the recent news that the French social security Decree of 9 March 2017 has been suspended or frozen. It is true that, following a meeting which took place last week, representatives of the industry have been told by the French government that the Decree will be modified to allow French resident seafarers to choose between affiliation with ENIM or another social security scheme (either a private scheme or the Caisse des Français de l’Etranger, which carries no employer contributions).

This is indeed a major victory and the acceptance of what MYBA has been lobbying for and proposing since the Decree was published. However, we are still awaiting official confirmation from the French government. In any event, any modification will have to be made as part of the next social security finance law, to be voted before 31 December 2017 and coming into force in early 2018. 

Until then, we underline that the Decree remains in full force. We are attempting to establish what measures (if any) will be implemented to enforce its provisions.

On a less positive note, we have also seen that on 12th September 2017 ENIM changed their interpretation of the Decree to include private yachts as well as commercial vessels, which means that French resident crew working on private yachts are now also affected.

MYBA will keep you informed of any further developments and will continue to press for the change in legislation to take place as early as possible.

Fiona Maureso, MYBA President
MYBA The Worldwide Yachting Association