French Student Rentrée Costs Reach €3,227 as FAGE Demands Urgent Scholarship Overhaul

Overview

• FAGE’s 2025 barometer puts the average first‑month university outlay at €3,227, up about 2% year over year.
• Specific back‑to‑school expenses rose 3.49%, with stationery up 9.69% and specialized pedagogical materials up 7.11%.
• Housing remains the largest burden at roughly €580 a month on average, and FAGE reports that in 2024 one in five students skipped meals to avoid overdrafts.
• Costs vary widely by location, reaching €3,689 for a Paris student (including about €690 for a small studio) and €4,503 for ultramarine students largely due to transport.
• At a press conference, FAGE called for indexation of scholarship access thresholds to the minimum wage and expansion to one million beneficiaries, as a reform postponed to 2026 now faces uncertainty with a pending confidence vote that could topple the government.