France’s consulate in Morocco reports his stays: France Travail demands €8,486 from him

The case was decided on January 30, 2026, by the Clermont-Ferrand Judicial Court. According to the judgment published by Doctrine, France Travail was demanding exactly €8,486.09 in return-to-work assistance benefits from him.

The investigation began after a report was received from French consular services in Morocco. They questioned whether the recipient’s stays in the kingdom were compatible with the benefits he was receiving in France. A copy of his passport, bearing entry and exit stamps, was attached to the document.

On Bladi.net : He spends 312 days in Morocco in one year: CAF demands €29,568 from him

Nine stays between July 2016 and December 2023 were identified. Some were relatively short, but others lasted well over a month: approximately 80 days between August and October 2021, followed by nearly three months between February and April 2023. The man did not dispute these trips.

He claims he declared his trips

The benefits recipient maintained that he had always been diligent in filing his declarations. However, his France Travail file mentioned none of the periods during which he was in Morocco, and he provided no evidence showing that he had notified the organization.

A job seeker must report absences to France Travail. To continue to be considered immediately available for employment, absences from their usual home may not exceed 35 days per calendar year.

The man also invoked the limitation period. He argued that France Travail could no longer recover benefits paid before April 30, 2021. In principle, actions to recover improperly paid unemployment benefits are subject to a three-year limitation period. This period is extended to ten years, however, in cases of fraud or false declarations.

The court applied the ten-year period, finding that the stays had not been reported. This differed from the conclusion reached in another case where simple trips to Morocco had not been sufficient to prove that the recipient had stopped residing in France. In the Clermont-Ferrand case, the absences were established by the passport and did not appear in any declaration.

On Bladi.net : Her Moroccan passport reveals her stays: CAF demands €10,638 from her

The objection filed by the benefits recipient against France Travail’s payment order was declared admissible, but his arguments were rejected on the merits. He was ordered to repay €8,486.09 for the benefits improperly received during the period under review, with interest accruing from November 27, 2024.

This sum is supplemented by €500 in procedural costs, as well as the costs of the proceedings, including in particular the costs of the formal demand for payment and the payment order.