Students face an above-inflation rise in living costs

By Jane Marshall. In 2013-14 students in France face a cost of living increase one-and-a-half times that of inflation, and a 2% rise in expenditure at the start of the new university year, according to inquiries by the two biggest student organisations.  Meanwhile, under a new scheme the government is to act as a rental guarantor for students who have difficulties raising a deposit. In its ninth annual survey on students’ living costs the majority students’ union UNEF, Union nationale des étudiants de France, calculates a rise of 1.6% for 2013-14 compared to the previous academic year – 1.5 times the inflation rate of 1.1%. More...