This chapter examines the trajectory of in-work benefit and wider ‘make work pay’ reforms in France from the late 1990s to the early 2020s. At the beginning of this period France introduced its first permanent wage supplement and then over several phases substantially re-designed its system of in-work benefits. At the same time, the value of the minimum wage was held relatively constant. The central focus is to understand the driving forces behind decisions towards these policies. The three chapter parts examine the major phases of IWB reform which took place: the creation of the Employment Bonus (2001), the Active Solidarity Income reform (2008) and the merger of these two instruments into the Activity Bonus (2015). An addendum looks at IWB changes since 2016, including the large expansion of the Activity Bonus.