About 50.6% of French unemployed is receiving unemployment insurance benefit, 11.8% is covered by solidarity scheme and another million Job seekers are receiving the RMI (revenu minimun d`insertion). The number of people on annual base in various subsidy programs increased about two million in France between 1973 and 1996. French government`s initiative to "activate" labor market policies In 1990`s did not succeed in reducing unemployment but in slightly mitigating budget deficit. French experience of passive labor market policy suggests that the extent of protection should conform to the classical principle of income loss compensation of the unemployed than to the "active principle "and careful attention should be paid to the capability of the economy when designing the passive program. Job matching service is particularly useful when there are vacancies for special category of workers. Vocational training enhances the success probability of job finding and the adaptability on workplace. But the effectiveness of these two policies Is limited when there are few job opportunities. Wage subsidy programs are always liable to windfall effect and replacement effect. But subsidy is usually combined with other labor market policy programs, such as vocational training on workplace, to make them more effective.