Some students rely on their paid internships to make ends meet during difficult months. This was the case of Anaïs, 22, who saw her end of studies internship in a hotel in Brest (Finistère), cut short after its closure on March 16. The business student had to go back to her parents and find a job in the factory to compensate for the loss of income and be able to continue to repay her student loan: "When the interim agency called me, I said yes immediately and took the first job without thinking, and I will continue until the hotel reopens, ”she explains.
Many of them, almost one in two students according to the Observatory of Student Life, have to work like Anaïs during the university year. With one in five students living below the poverty line according to INSEE, they are among the most precarious populations, hit hard by the current health and economic crisis.
A blow for those who used to find seasonal employment in sectors that recruit a lot during the summer. But this year, with the closure of hotels, bars and restaurants and the recession affecting many other professions, job openings for students have shrunk.
“It's very scary. We talk a lot about the economic crisis without my knowing exactly what it will mean for me ”, apprehends Laetitia, 23, who follows a master's degree in Arts at the University of Lorraine in Metz (Moselle). A scholarship holder, Laetitia works every summer to supplement her income and cover all of her necessary expenses. His job search was complicated during this period. "I am in a logic of saving as much as possible to keep the summer," she explains.
Aid that is not enough
To try to alleviate these difficulties, the government put online this week on www.etudiant.gouv.fr, the form to obtain the exceptional aid of 200 euros announced by Edouard Philippe, intended for overseas students staying in mainland France or for students who can justify the loss of a job or a paid internship. "A first victory," rejoices Mélanie Luce, president of UNEF, whose union had called on the government to take national measures. "But it's not enough at all," she says. We must increase the duration and the amount of the payment and widen the public to reach a maximum of students.
The Ministry of Education and Research has also released an additional 10 million dedicated to emergency aid. "This does not at all meet the current needs of students, considers Mélanie Luce, the Crous have reported an increase of 79% in requests for this aid which is already underfunded".
The president of the UNEF also denounces the abolition by the government in 2019 of Aid for the Research of the First job (ARPE) which could have benefited many students in this difficult period. Many young graduates are indeed entering sectors that are experiencing an unprecedented crisis. "It is discouraging, after 3 years of studying in a field, to have to face such a crisis just after leaving school," comments Anaïs, disappointed.
"The government leaves us completely aside"
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"It's very anxiety-provoking," sighs Alex, 23, who, like many students, has seen his life completely turned upside down for the past two months. Originally from Orne, he followed a bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Caen-Normandy. Two years ago, he moved to a small apartment in the city center with his partner. "Despite my scholarship, I could not afford to live alone," says the young man who no longer depends financially on his parents. Only his mother, a nurse, sometimes gives him a little money.
Thanks to the specific annual aid from Crous, he receives 560 euros per month. Despite the APLs that supplement his scholarship, Alex had to take out a student loan to cover all of his monthly expenses. And this summer, no choice, he must find a job to make ends meet, as he will not touch his purse.
Temp agencies, supermarkets, factories… Alex leaves no sector aside in his job searches. In February, he and his companion made their usual tour to deposit their CV and multiply the telephone applications. Without success. He had to pause his steps during confinement and today finds himself faced with a thorny situation when job offers have become scarce. “Employers sometimes demand to have some experience, even for student jobs. It was already complicated to find before and there it became almost impossible ”, he laments.
Above all, it will not be one of the students who will be able to benefit in June from the exceptional aid of 200 euros set up by the government, reserved for Ultramarins and those who can justify the loss of an internship or a job. . Annoyed, he lets go: "The government is leaving us completely aside".
