“I live on aid, the French work for me”: he boasts of “taking advantage of the system” on TikTok, Aurore Bergé and the Caf react

Fraudster or mythomaniac? A man calling himself ALP made waves on TikTok this week, for all the wrong reasons. In a video, which has circulated widely on social networks, this individual, who claims to live in Paris, explains, at length, how he benefits from the French social system. “I live on aid from France, the French work for me,” he says at the start of the video, which has accumulated more than 360,000 views.

“All French people work, you get up every morning at 6 a.m. to go to work, while I sleep, I get up at noon. And at the end of the month I have my RSA, I receive 600 euros, and I have 300 euros from the local mission which pays me every month. That's 900 euros. My rent costs 500 euros, I have APL of 350 euros, so basically I pay the rent 150 euros. At the end of the month I manage to save 600 euros by doing nothing,” he explains.

He then claims that the local mission finances his license to the tune of 1,300 euros, as well as his Navigo pass to take public transport in the Ile-de-France region, or 84 euros per month. “It’s the social workers who pay for my electricity, my gas, my water,” he then adds, also saying he takes advantage of the Restos du coeur. “I don’t do anything, I decided not to do anything. All French people have the seum, you work and pay taxes for me, so that I can be paid,” he continues, assuming several times to “take advantage of the system”.

Also read RSA, APL, family allowances... Who can really benefit from social benefits in France?

Enough to make the National Family Allowance Fund (Cnaf) react, which pays in particular the RSA and the APL via the Caf. “The individual has been identified and checks are underway,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter), indicating that “the first investigations raise doubts about his assertions.” However, “in the event of proven fraud, a complaint will be filed against it,” threatens Cnaf, speaking in another post of “fake news” and “incitement to fraud.”

The video became so viral that the Minister of Solidarity and Families Aurore Bergé also reacted. “Beware of videos of individuals seeking only buzz and acting on the back of truth and national solidarity,” warns the former president of the Renaissance group in the National Assembly. Contacted by Le Figaro about the man in the video, the minister's office reports that “the first investigations carried out tend to demonstrate differences between his situation and his statements”.

“To date, no fraud has been observed by this individual. A priori we are closer to the search for buzz than the fraudster,” adds his office. However, investigations “are continuing via the Cnaf services. If fraud is detected, a complaint will be filed,” we repeat. This questionable video, which has garnered a huge number of comments from scandalized Internet users, justifies “the minister's desire to remind people that we must remain vigilant regarding videos that can circulate on social networks and her firmness vis-à-vis fraudsters and those who can incite fraud,” explains those around him.

This man is not the first to advocate social fraud on social networks. Last September, a YouTuber nicknamed Mertel claimed in a video to have 1,800 euros net monthly income “without giving a damn” by accumulating various allowances. Already at the time, Aurore Bergé had slammed her fist on the table. Subsequently, the minister made an amendment as part of the social security financing bill (PLFSS) for 2024, with her colleague from Public Accounts Thomas Cazenave, creating an offense of public incitement to social fraud ( for example on the internet or social networks). Punished with two years' imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros, he will see the light of day on January 1st.