The back-to-school allowance was paid this Tuesday, August 20 in mainland France. Although it has been increased, it is considered insufficient for some families.
In a supermarket in the Somme, many parents are already scanning the shelves of school supplies, lists in hand.It’s a headache to find the supply lists to the letter. Sometimes they ask us for notebooks with a number of pages that don’t exist “, confides a mother already exhausted by this back-to-school list that comes back every year. However, the back-to-school allowance has only arrived in the accounts of its beneficiaries selected on income criteria, that morning of August 20.
Faced with this inevitable moment of spending for families at the end of the summer holidays, several strategies exist to avoid having to bear too many expenses on an ad hoc basis.
“We have several customer profiles“, explains Sébastien Ruhllmann, director of the Intermarché in Glisy, in the Somme.Now, many are anticipating purchases, as with Christmas shopping. They have been anticipating for several months and there is even a strong demand from the start of the school holidays. When the back-to-school allowance is paid, there is a new peak in activity. O“There has always been a big spike at the time of payment, but now people are spreading out their purchases more and more.”
For Sébastien Bill, it is the general decline in purchasing power that remains worrying. The vice-president of the Regional Union of Family Associations of Hauts-de-France (URAF) explains: “The allowance has been revalued and that is good. However, this revaluation is lower than inflation. I remind you that inflation in 2023 was 4.9% and the back-to-school allowance was revalued by 4.6%. So in concrete terms, yes, it has been increased, but the increase remains lower than inflation.“The drop in the average basket for school supplies is also estimated at 1% by the UFC-Que Choisir association.
The vice-president of URAF also points out a gap that is too small between the aid granted to primary school children (€439.38) and the aid granted to high school students, who only receive €38 more, or €454.40. It is perhaps conscious of this problem that the Hauts-de-France Regional Council has set up a back-to-school allowance specific to high school students. Second-year students receive €100, while first-year and final-year students only receive €55. Apprentices receive €200 for their entry into high school.
“This does not allow us to compensate, because with a child who is going into first or final year, we are dealing with other expenses. For example, someone who is going to do a first year of science, they will have to buy a scientific calculator and when you look at the price of the scientific calculator that maths teachers ask you for… Look at the prices, we are around 120, 130, 140 euros and it is something that is mandatory!”laments Sébastien Bill.
Beyond school supplies, there are also extracurricular expenses that weigh on family budgets according to him: “We talk about clothes but we must not forget extracurricular activities either. It is a cost, and all of that still counts in purchasing power. It is not just the start of the school year. During the start of the school year, there are promotions, there are prices that can sometimes be a little lower. But, when you have children, it is not just in September.”
For after-school and extracurricular activities, the Somme department is also planning additional back-to-school assistance. This time, it comes in the form of a checkbook. €80 in vouchers are allocated to middle school students living in the Somme. They are dedicated to financing sports activities, cultural outings or buying books.
These departmental and regional aids are not subject to income conditions, unlike the national back-to-school allowance. This is the main criticism that URAF addresses to the Government.In France, we are seeing a drop in the birth rate. So, I think it would be good to support families. Only a third of families receive it. Two thirds of them do not benefit from it. It leaves many families by the wayside. The ceilings are too low.“, declares Sébastien Bill before hammering home “What we are demanding is an increase in resource ceilings.“.
For a family with a single dependent child to receive the back-to-school allowance, the income earned two years previously must not exceed 27,141 €.
The ceiling is €33,404 for a household with two children.