This is to show that young people are "
the priority
", even if it means defying the curfew at 6 pm.
This Monday, the Secretary of State for Youth and Engagement, Sarah El Haïry, spent the evening in the premises of the Nightline association, to listen to students ... who are listening to other students.
Read also: Covid-19: what aid has been put in place by the government to help students?
It is 9 p.m. and the first messages are already appearing on the volunteers' screens.
In this Parisian apartment in the 5th arrondissement transformed into a listening center, requests from young people "
in psychological need
" pour in every evening, from 9 pm to 2 am.
"
It means that the student was in front of his computer waiting for the center to open to write to you
," observes the minister attentively.
Via a "
chat
" or phone calls, volunteers try to provide them with assistance.
"
It's a very beautiful project, you can be proud of yourself
", Sarah El Haïry slips to one of the "
listeners
".
"I need a goal to get up in the morning"
For the Minister Delegate in office since the summer, "
part of the answer
" is there.
"
In this period, young people need to recharge their batteries, and it is also in the fact of being useful that they can find this energy
", she explains, after having made the commitment the "
mantra
”of its mandate.
But these young people are also there to express “
human
” and “
financial
” needs.
In the next room, five students came to tell their story.
Dropping out of school, depression, loneliness ... everyone experiences the health crisis in their own way, with sometimes disastrous consequences on their career.
Faced with these testimonies, the Minister is playing the card of transparency.
“
In your opinion, in what we have put in place, what works and what does not work at all?
She asks them regularly.
To read also: Sarah El Haïry: "I take my hat off to the youth"
For an hour and a half, Sarah El Haïry listens to them, while ensuring that she works to provide them with solutions in the face of very concrete situations.
"
I need a goal to get up in the morning,
" says a student.
"
I do 9h - 19h in video, it takes me double the work to concentrate
", adds another.
"
It is very courageous of you to have shared your story
", slips the Secretary of State to them.
A “tour de France” of campuses
This field work and meetings, Sarah El Haïry has been doing it for several weeks through her “
campus tour of France
”.
However, she is rarely on the front of the stage, as her predecessor Gabriel Attal, who became government spokesman, had been able to be.
"
This is not my subject, I have a subject of effectiveness, I want to be an accelerator of the presence of youth subjects in all ministries,
" she says.
While ensuring that “
youth, in this government, is a priority.
There is not a tip, not a Covid meeting without addressing this issue.
"
It remains to be seen what political response to bring to the youth, or to "
these youths, in all their diversity
", as the minister likes to point out.
Thursday January 21, Emmanuel Macron, traveling to the University of Paris-Saclay (Essonne) announced the setting up of two meals per day at one euro for all students, a "psy-check" and the return of face-to-face to college one day a week.
If the Minister recognizes that this is only a "
beginning of an immediate response
", she ensures that she is working on longer-term responses, such as the "
youth guarantee
" of the "1 young person, 1 solution" plan.
"
We must now strengthen and expand it,
" she says.
Read also: Seven in ten students are worried about their mental health
On the other hand, Sarah El Haïry does not share the desire to extend the active solidarity income (RSA) to those under 25, which, according to her, removes any notion of "
support
".
"
With the RSA, we meet a food need, but we leave the young alone, while he needs a boost to start his life,
" argues the Secretary of State.
For the time being, while the health situation raises fears of a third confinement, Sarah El Haïry is trying by all means to give back “
collective moments
” to young people.
And to know if these young people will be able to withstand a new period of confinement, the Minister maintains her line: “
There are a variety of situations and we are working to provide a response adapted to each one.
"
