French town council scores first with guaranteed minimum income For the first time in France a town council, Grande-Synthe on the outskirts of the northern town of Dunkirk, introduces the 'Guaranteed Social Minimum' - a base rate of monthly income aimed at helping inhabitants living below the poverty line to "live like normal people," says one beneficiary. It means 1,500 households in Grand-Synthe are guaranteed a minimum monthly income of just over 1,000 euros. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES