On average, French students spend 9 euros for their daily meals. A figure down 10% in one year.
Since the 1er October, personal housing assistance (APL) fell by 5 euros for all beneficiaries. Of the 6.5 million households affected, around 800,000 are students.
After the announcement made on July 12 by Bruno Le Maire and Gérald Darmanin, Ministers of Economy and Action and Public Accounts, the reactions were strong from the students. On social networks, many people showed what 5 euros could represent in their budget, especially in food.
This is what a student can buy with 5 euros #APLenDanger #APL #governementphilippe #government #MacronPiegeACons pic.twitter.com/IQVEwD6cp9
– mystery (@mysterecache) July 27, 2017
For many of them, it would seem that this sum represents a day’s food. An Opinion Way survey, carried out for SMEREP, suggests that 38% of students spend 5 euros per day, or less, on food.
Belt tightening or figure exacerbated by the controversy around the decrease in APL, this share has been rising sharply since last year. In 2016, they were indeed only 22% to spend this amount daily, almost half as much.
On average, a French student spends 9 euros on food in 2017. A declining figure: in 2016, they took 10 euros per day out of their wallet for their daily meals.
Student health in question
The survey is also interested in the feeding methods of the students. It shows in particular that 90% of young people (students and high school students) nibble. Sometimes out of greed. But also, more worryingly, 34% of students admit to swallowing snacks because they skipped a meal.
A survey carried out in 2016 on nearly 45,000 people by the student mutual insurance company Emevia showed that 37% of students had an unbalanced diet. The time for lunch was singled out, but not only. The limited budget justified the use of cheap, poor quality, and fatty foods.
The Red Cross is worried
The small budget weighs on the health of students. In May 2017, the Red Cross alerted to the fact that precariousness pushed nearly 13,000 of them, in Paris alone, to deprive themselves of four to six meals per week. The financial reasons were, once again, advanced.
In the 700 food distribution points of the Red Cross, more and more people under 25 are turning up. They represented 12% of visitors in 2015, and 13% in 2016. And on average, these young people have only 85 euros per month to live. A hole of 5 euros is therefore not negligible for them.
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