Overview

• Average rents climbed by 2.46 percent in private housing and 3.26 percent in CROUS residences, while mandatory campus fees and transport costs also surged.
• The survey finds that 76 percent of students remain ineligible for state scholarships, leaving most without financial aid to offset higher expenses.
• Prime Minister François Bayrou’s 2026 ‘blank year’ will freeze tax brackets, social benefits and pensions to save €7.1 billion, a move UNEF says will deepen student hardship.
• Only about 10 percent of the 60,000 CROUS housing units promised in 2017 have been completed, keeping public student accommodation highly scarce.
• UNEF is demanding an urgent revaluation of grants, reform of allocation rules, a universal autonomy allowance and a significant expansion of public housing to keep students above the poverty line.