Wallonia’s Zero-Unemployment Pilot: 260 Jobs at Risk
Morgane, 23, had never held a job. She left school without a diploma and spent her days doing nothing, speaking to no one. Today, she manages a kitchen at the Préhistomuseum restaurant in Flémalle, capable of serving 20 to 40 covers on her own. “Now I have a job, and on top of that I’m becoming sociable, I go out — before I didn’t talk to anyone!” she says.
Morgane is one of 270 people employed across 11 pilot territories in Wallonia under the TerritoiR’ES program, formerly known as Territoires Zéro Chômeur de Longue Durée (TZCLD). A new evaluation reveals that 10% of beneficiaries had never worked before entering the program, and more than 50% lack a secondary school diploma. But while the social impact is clear, the program’s future is hanging by a thread.
A Bold Experiment with Mixed Results
Inspired by a French model pioneered by ATD Quart Monde, Wallonia launched its version of the zero-unemployment territory concept in 2022 as part of its post-pandemic recovery plan. The idea is radical but simple: instead of trying to fit long-term unemployed people into existing jobs, create new jobs tailored to their skills — jobs that also meet unmet needs in local communities.
Seventeen pilot territories were initially selected, with a total budget of €104 million co-financed equally by the European Social Fund and the Walloon Region. The original target was 735 jobs by 2026. But according to sociologist Julien Charles of CESEP and UCLouvain, who authored the evaluation, only 265 jobs were created between 2024 and 2026 — far short of the goal.
“There are several factors explaining the gap,” Charles told RTBF. One major project that planned to recruit 200 people was terminated, and five underperforming projects were abandoned after a first evaluation. Funding delays also played a role — money only reached project accounts in 2024, though operations were supposed to begin in 2023.
Reaching Those Left Behind
What sets TerritoiR’ES apart from standard employment programs is its ability to reach people who fall through the cracks. “There are no administrative conditions to access these jobs,” Charles explained. “This encouraged project leaders to go find people who are on no lists, who are not registered as job seekers, who do not benefit from social integration income.”
The types of work created are as diverse as the needs they address: restaurant and catering services, laundry for elderly residents, social taxi services, social grocery stores, recycling centers, and bicycle repair workshops. Half of the employers are local public authorities; the other half are social economy organizations.
Jean-Pol Osset, administrator of La Fabrique de l’emploi in Flémalle, is adamant about the program’s philosophy: “No one is unemployable. All the people we contacted, no matter how far they were from the labor market, had the goal of working.”
Tangible Social Benefits
The evaluation reveals impressive secondary effects. 95% of beneficiaries report being satisfied or very satisfied with their employment. 40% of those interviewed said they can now afford healthcare expenses they previously could not. Local authorities across the political spectrum — from MR to PS to Les Engagés — support the projects.
Maxime Palumbo, director of La Fabrique de l’emploi, pushes back against the notion that these are make-work positions. “These are not gimmick jobs,” he said. “We’re in a hybrid economy: yes, we have public money in part, but we also have revenue on the other side!”
Political Headwinds and Funding Uncertainty
Despite the positive outcomes, the program faces an existential threat. On July 13, 2026, Walloon Minister Yves Coppieters (Les Engagés), who oversees the program, stated unequivocally that the pilot projects “cannot be perpetuated as they are” and that the funding was “exceptional and cannot be matched.”
The political landscape shifted significantly when the 2024 Walloon elections brought a new MR-Les Engagés majority to power. The program, championed under the previous PS-led government by former minister Christie Morreale, initially landed with skeptical minister Pierre-Yves Jeholet (MR) before being transferred to Coppieters, who renamed it TerritoiR’ES in December 2024 to emphasize its social economy anchoring.
Current funding — both Walloon and European — expires at the end of 2026. Only €7.5 million of the €104 million budget was spent in 2023-2024, and the minister’s office has not disclosed total spending figures. Antoine Dufrane, coordinator of the Colfontaine project, summed up the mood on the ground: “We have lots of questions and today not many answers.”
What Comes Next?
Coppieters has promised a reform of the broader socio-professional integration system in autumn 2026. His office has signaled a desire to “limit the damage” and preserve existing jobs while drawing lessons from the experiment. Some elements of the TerritoiR’ES model could be integrated into the existing IDESS framework (Initiatives de Développement de l’Emploi dans le Secteur des Services de proximité).
But for the 270 people currently employed — many of whom, like Morgane, have transformed their lives through the program — the uncertainty is deeply unsettling. “An abandonment would be very hard psychologically,” Dufrane warned. Beneficiaries who lose their jobs would find themselves back at square one.
The question facing Wallonia’s policymakers is whether the undeniable human impact of these 270 jobs — and the societal savings they generate — justifies the cost of scaling the program, or whether the experiment will remain just that: a promising pilot that never made it to full implementation.
For Morgane and her colleagues, the clock is ticking.