During the pandemic, images of long lines of university students and young workers attending food distributions shocked French public opinion. The crisis caused by COVID-19 served as an accelerator for a phenomenon already underway: the precariousness of a sector of the population especially affected by the increase in unemployment that followed the confinements and -in the case of students- the saturation of the scholarship system.
Overshadowed in recent years by other crises, the situation of French youth may take on special relevance in a year marked by social movements. Especially since the approval by decree of the pension reform, which has caused a notable increase in the presence of students in the demonstrations. This Thursday, in the new day of mobilization against the reform called by the inter-union, new demonstrations and blockades are expected in universities and institutes.
Added to the hostility against raising the minimum retirement age is criticism of the procedure used by the Government, which wants to apply a reform approved without a vote in the National Assembly. “Young people are the main sector that can allow the expansion of the mobilization against the pension reform,” recently stressed the leader of the left-wing formation France Insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, on his blog. “No regime can win with the youth against it. Never. Nowhere, ”he opined.
But this discomfort is prior to the crisis unleashed by the reform. Despite the recovery of economic activity and an unemployment rate at its lowest levels since 2008, food distributions continue to work and, according to the associations, at high levels. The context of rising inflation –especially in the price of energy and food products– adds pressure on students, something that is reflected in their vision of the world and their expectations: in recent years the proportion of those who believe that their life will be better than that of their parents has fallen from 46% to 27%, according to data from the French Observatory of Student Life (OVE).
Some imaginative initiatives have also sprung up to help students solve their accommodation problems. In the Paris region, various organizations put young people in contact with older people who live alone and have an extra room to rent. In Lille, near the border with Belgium, the Campus Vert association puts students in contact with farmers in the region so that they can live on the farms.
Saturated scholarship system
In Paris, every Thursday, the Restos du cœur association organizes one of these distributions at the Quartier Jeunes headquarters, a municipal space for those under 30 years of age. In the afternoon, a trickle of young people crosses the Louvre square loaded with large bags of food and cleaning or hygiene products. “A colleague told me about these distributions, where she works as a volunteer,” she tells elDiario.She is Laure, a student of Cultural Mediation at the University of Paris. “I have a scholarship, but it is one of the lowest bands and life in Paris is very expensive. Starting with the rent, but also other things, such as pharmacy or hygiene products that are much more expensive than in other regions. So the distributions are an important help to get through the month, ”she assures.
It is estimated that around 750,000 students in France receive scholarships based on social criteria. It is a restricted regime, with a maximum number of beneficiaries for each year; around a third remain in the first step, which offers less than 1,100 euros per course and only 8% are entitled to the highest level of aid, with an endowment of around 6,000 euros.
“I don’t think we have to fall into the miserabilism that we have seen in some media when they talk about the subject, but the fact is that for decades there has been an increase in the student population, which between 1960 and 2020 has multiplied by seven [de 300.000 a 2,8 millones]”, says Louis Maurin, director of the Observatory of Inequalities. “This also means an increase in the number of students from low-income homes, who may not have a family network; At the same time, the budget item for scholarships has decreased in relation to the wealth of the country, as has spending per student”, he points out.
In addition, this increase in the population that can apply for aid is compounded by the fact that income from work, on which a large part of the students depend, continues to be fragile. The proportion of university students with employment has fallen from 46% before the pandemic to 37% at the end of 2021, according to OVE. “And since 2010 the aid barometer has not been revalued in relation to the level of income,” says Maurin. “The loss of purchasing power combined with inflation can be very serious,” she warns.
Difficulties for the middle class
The diversification of the student population also means that the aid network does not reach all those who need it. The protection system is based on the family, students are considered children of their parents and not autonomous adults, so they continue to be dependent on the family network. In addition, the calculation by income thresholds leaves out lower-middle class students who also have problems financing their studies.
In the Co’p1 association, which distributes meals to 850 students a week in Paris, they point out that only a quarter of those who attend are on scholarships. “My school is not registered in the official system of university centers, so I am not entitled to a state scholarship,” explains Aurélien, a student at a design school in Paris. “I work in catering a few hours a week, but working full time and studying is very difficult. My parents already have my brothers at home and I don’t want to burden them even more financially ”, he says.
Throwback to our special distribution of the 1000 baskets distributed!
An opportunity to collect food as well as hygiene kits, menstrual protection or even clothes ????A big thank you to all our partners ???? pic.twitter.com/O1IuUlpZq3
— Cop1 – Student Solidarity (@Cop1_Soli_Etu) December 28, 2022
In France there is a minimum age (25 years) to access the active solidarity income, one of the main aid devices for citizens with fewer resources. Paradoxically, according to the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, the age group between 18 and 24 years is precisely the one most affected by poverty (23% in 2018, compared to 13% of the population as a whole).
“The scholarships are not intended to promote the independence of students, but to support parents who cannot support their children,” says sociologist Tom Chevalier in a note for the think tank Newfoundland. “This family policy has consequences, weakens young people and reflects inequalities: the burden of supporting students falls on the shoulders of families, as long as they have sufficient resources and the young person maintains good relations with his parents,” he says.
Revaluation of scholarships
In this context, the Minister of Higher Education, Sylvie Retailleau, announced last week an increase – the first since 2013 – of almost 20% of the budget allocated to the scholarship system. According to calculations by the ministry, this should allow the integration of 35,000 new scholarship holders at the beginning of the next academic year, as well as the revaluation of another 140,000 who will go up in rank.
The student unions consider the announcement as “a first victory”, but insufficient. “Students are not going to be fooled. […] 37 euros more do not allow them to live with dignity ”, warned the National Union of Students of France (UNEF), one of the main unions in the country, in a statement.
The UNEF regrets that the extension of the scholarships does not affect 100,000 new students, as they had requested. “These announcements are not going to stop students from mobilizing,” said L’Alternative, another student organization. “These measures do not even compensate for the failures of a system that has excluded 60,000 students from any right to a scholarship between 2021 and 2023,” she said.