In a recent interview, Clémence Guetté LFI deputy for Val-de-Marne and vice-president of the French National Assembly, unveiled the central ideas of her book For a Policy of Friendship. She challenges the family-centric model of the civil code by suggesting that friendships should be granted concrete legal rights, a notion that blends queer literature insights with legislative ambition.
The most striking illustration she offers concerns a sick friend. Under current law, an employee cannot request paid leave to accompany a non-family member in hospital. Guetté asks why a friend should be denied that possibility and proposes a dedicated “friend sick-leave” provision. She acknowledges that critics fear such measures could dilute the flexibility that defines friendship, yet she argues that law-makers can craft safeguards without importing the full weight of marital or parental obligations.
Rethinking Legal Protection for Friends
Guetté’s proposal goes beyond occasional leave. She envisions a friend-PACS—a civil contract similar to the existing pacte civil de solidarité, but stripped of requirements for cohabitation or romantic intent. The contract would enable two friends to share financial responsibilities, such as debt solidarity, mirroring the economic safety net that marriage traditionally provides. By framing this as a solidarity agreement she hopes to pre-empt accusations of abuse, emphasizing that the public’s trust in individuals should not be treated as a deficit.
She also references the broader critique of a family-first legal architecture. Philosopher Geoffroy de Lagasnerie argues for replacing family-oriented policies with comprehensive social measures. While Guetté finds the idea appealing, she cautions that a complete overhaul of the civil code would be unrealistic in the current political climate, preferring incremental steps that respect prevailing social conservatism.
Addressing Youth Isolation and the Role of Associations
The interview highlights a surge in loneliness among young people, a trend Guetté links to post-COVID precarity. Many students must juggle evening jobs, weekend shifts, and seasonal work to afford their studies, leaving little time—or money—for social activities. She recalls personal experiences of missing gatherings due to lack of funds, and calls for more free communal spaces supported by public funding.
Associations, she notes, are the primary venue for such inclusive spaces, yet they suffer from chronic under-financing and from volunteers lacking the statutory 35-hour workweek. To restore the capacity of civil society, Guetté urges the progressive bloc to advocate for a 32-hour workweek a sixth week of paid holidays, and robust pension protection—periods when citizens are most likely to volunteer.
Beyond the Family: From Work-Time Reform to Vacation Colonies
Guetté also revives the forgotten policy of corporate-funded vacation colonies, a legacy of the Mitterrand era that mixed children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Research shows these camps foster trans-class friendships that often dissolve later in life. In response, she and fellow lawmakers have drafted proposals encouraging companies to finance such initiatives again.
All these measures—shorter work weeks, expanded holiday entitlement, and renewed support for vacation colonies—are presented as part of a broader strategy to combat isolation and to make friendship a recognized pillar of social welfare.
Political Landscape and Conservative Resistance
Guetté anticipates strong pushback from right-wing and far-right politicians, who, in her view, prioritize production, capital accumulation and labor market flexibility over relational solidarity. She criticizes the current administration for cloaking liberal economic policies in progressive rhetoric, especially when it comes to granting new collective rights.
Nevertheless, she remains confident that citizens will not exploit these rights, describing the fear of abuse as a manifestation of “neoliberal suspicion”. By embedding friendship rights within a framework of mutual solidarity—rather than as a gratuitous entitlement—she believes the proposal can gain broad societal acceptance.
