Olivier Samain, edited by Thibaud Le Meneec 4:02 p.m., August 19, 2021

The UNEF has just published a ranking of the most expensive and cheapest cities when you are a student, as the start of the academic year approaches.

While the cost of living is unsurprisingly very high in Paris, other cities have taken steps to make student life more affordable.

The observation is shared by the two main student organizations (FAGE and UNEF) which have published studies on the subject in recent days: the cost of living for students will increase this year.

But UNEF goes further with the publication of an analysis of the cost of student life city by city.

The ranking shows big differences within the 47 university towns scrutinized by the student organization.

Île-de-France is the most expensive

For each of these cities tested, the same elements were taken into account: registration, catering, telephone, clothing, health insurance and leisure fees, but also public transport and, of course, the amount of rent. once perceived the APL.

There is no surprise: it is the Parisian students who bear the highest mark: 1,276 euros per month.

Then come the cities of the Parisian crown, such as Nanterre, Créteil, Saint-Denis or Orsay.

The most expensive provincial town only arrives in ninth position and it is Nice with a monthly cost of 1,064 euros.

The welcome drop in transport prices

In fact, it is better to be a student in an average city than in a large metropolis. In Perpignan, Brest, Le Mans, Saint-Étienne or Poitiers, the bill is barely more than 800 euros per month. And it is in Limoges that the cost of student life is the lowest: 793 euros per month. In its study, the UNEF underlines that some cities took measures last year to reduce the precariousness of students, hit hard by the consequences of the health crisis. Among these measures, we find, for example, the reduction in the price of public transport for them: -10% in Rennes, -14% in Caen, -39% in Perpignan and even less 48% in Saint-Étienne.

But it is housing that remains the first discriminatory factor in access to studies. And in this regard, rent control can play a role: in Paris, where the device is at work, student rent has fallen by 3.9% this year. This does not prevent it from remaining the most expensive in France: 850 euros are spent on average for accommodation in the capital.