ABSTRACT
This chapter shows the distinctive characteristics of the RMI's implementation in France and to study the ways in which it helps to constitute organized socioeconomic mobility and transitions. It defines the notion of the Rgime Local d'Insertion' (RLI) that geographically and socially presents the forms these transitions assume. The RMI has to be understood as more than merely an instrument to fight poverty. It forms part of labour market programmes that target specific population groups facing economic and social difficulties. The RMI plays quite an important role in the practical constitution of organized transitions. The RMI used as unemployment benefits generalizes in some ways the unemployment insurance system by offering what can be seen as compensation for a large proportion of job seekers. The socioeconomic situation, the efforts of the agencies administering the programme, the type of labour market and the characteristics of the beneficiaries all interact in various ways.
