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This text deals with the construction of a French employment policy instrument: “la Prime pour l'emploi”. The birth of this income tax credit marks a cognitive shift in French employment policy. The arrival of new actors in the sector has opened the door for a more market-oriented orientation. This orientation was reinforced by several expert reports that gave scientific and political credit to a reform that breaks with the previous “socialist” orientation of employment policy. This social process has led to a new definition of French employment policy. As opposed to the former decades, the unemployed are now more perceived as responsible for their situation, while the meaning of “employment” has shifted from a “status” to an “activity.”