Every year, AFGES, the main student organization in Strasbourg, carries out a barometer of the cost of student living, and for this start of the school year, the finding is consistent with other studies published on the subject in recent days: everything is increasing, or almost, in particular educational material, insurance, complementary health insurancebut also everyday living expenses, such as accommodation or food.
Finding an apartment in Strasbourg, a hassle
In addition to the increase in housing insurance, the average price of a studio is increasing this year by 2.43%, going from 494 euros to 506 euros. The Afges asks rent controland castigates “the excessively intensive practice of Airbnb, where several owners prefer to rent for short stays, with exorbitant prices“, underlines Romuald Ladwein, its president.
The organization also asks more places in university halls of residence. “We support the Crous project to open a new residence at Place d’Islande, because we are facing a real housing crisis in Strasbourg“, he continues. “We have almost 500 places less at the moment because of the renovations. It’s very good to renovate, but you always have to have places for students at social rates.” The Afges also offers an emergency housing solution for one weekwithout means test, in case students find themselves with nothing at the start of the school year.
Students skipping meals
The one euro ticket for the university restaurant is frozen for scholarship holders. But for food shopping, the average basket increased by 10.42%, from 179.74 euros to 196.47 euros. The Afges therefore puts in place its social and solidarity grocery storesfrom the month of October, “grocery stores where you can buy products at 10% of market prices. We already have requests from students when the start of the school year has not started“, explains Romuald Ladwein. To access it, you must complete a file according to the income of the student – and not of the parents.
Afges calls for an overhaul of the scholarship system
Because the rise in the cost of living is felt all the more strongly by scholarship students, like Laurent, a student in sociology, who had to take a little job in addition to his internship last year, to be able to pay his rent and eat. However, he considers himself lucky in relation to “to people who are not helped by their parents and who do not receive a scholarship at all“.
This is another claim of Afges: “We want scholarships to be reformed so that they are more individualized, that they really relate to the student’s income, and that we no longer have this echelon effect based on the parents’ income, where when the parents will earn 10 euros more, the student can lose 100 euros on his scholarship“, concludes Romuald Ladwein.