Could universal basic income work for France?

In this week's Spotlight on France, RFl takes a look at an idea that has been picking up some steam in French politics: Universal Basic Income or UBI. 

Socialist Presidential Primary Benoit Hamon has made Universal Basic Income one of the key proposal of his campaign. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

The idea isn't new, but has made a come back in French politics recently, thanks in part to Socialist Presidential Candidate Benoit Hamon.

He has made it one of the cornerstone of his project for France in the campaign of the Left Presidential Primary.

So what is Universal Basic Income? The idea is that the State would hand out money to every citizen on a regular basis. There are four rules to it: it’s periodic, meaning paid at regular interval by the State, it’s individual, universal and unconditional, meaning it’s paid without a requirement to work.

But would it work in France? Fabien Jannic-Cherbonnel reports.