Public data collected by BFM Business and the Union sociale pour l'habitat (USH) reveal that France’s budget for personal housing allowances (APL) has decreased by 30.175 billion euros over a 10-year period. A major policy introduced during Emmanuel Macron’s first term was a 5 euro cut to APL, which saved the state around 400 million euros annually since 2018 and 130 million in 2017. These cuts are estimated to have reduced APL by about 3.73 billion euros by 2026. Although Macron criticized the reduction as a “stupidity” and a “political burden” in 2019, none of his government officials have reversed this measure. Other key changes include a complete freeze on APL in 2018 and a policy of under-indexing the allowances compared to inflation in 2019 and 2020. Additional freezes and under-revaluations were introduced, with the latest freeze taking effect on January 1, 2026. Collectively, these measures have saved the state approximately 8.6 billion euros over nearly nine years. The elimination of APL Accession in 2018 saved an additional 1 billion euros, while ending APL for non-scholarship foreign students outside the community by July 1, 2026, added another 100 million euros in savings. The 2018 freeze on social housing rents also led to a reduction in APL for some beneficiaries, totaling about 405 million euros over nine years. In 2018, the government introduced the Solidarity Rent Reduction (RLS), negotiated by then-Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. This policy required social landlords to lower rents for those affected by the APL cuts. The first year of the RLS cost HLM (social housing companies) about 800 million euros, and the financial burden has grown over time. From 2018 to 2026, the state transferred approximately 10.2 billion euros to social landlords to support this measure. Critics argue that the RLS has limited the ability of these landlords to invest in energy efficiency and new housing projects. The number of housing approvals granted by social landlords dropped from about 120,000 annually before the reform to 82,000 by 2023. However, production has slightly recovered in 2024 and 2025, linked to a real estate market crisis and a reduction in the RLS’s scope. The “contemporanéisation” policy, introduced in 2021, required real-time updates of beneficiaries’ income, leading to a significant drop in the number of people receiving APL. The number of APL beneficiaries fell from 6.5 million households before the reform to 5.5 million by June 2026, according to the Direction de la recherche, des études, de l’évaluation et des statistiques (Drees). This change is estimated to have saved about 1 billion euros annually, as reported by the Court of Audit. Overall, APL savings during Macron’s two terms are estimated at around 30 billion euros.