An exceptional aid of 200 euros will be paid in June to some 800,000 young people under 25 "precarious or modest", who were not eligible for other aid granted since the start of the epidemic crisis, the government announced on Monday.
This sum will be paid in early June to some 400,000 students "who have lost their job or their internship" and to "isolated overseas students who could not return home," said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, explaining the deconfinement strategy to the Senate. It will also be paid in mid-June to some 415,000 "young people under the age of 25, precarious or modest, who receive housing assistance," he said.
In the case of students, they will have to file a request for assistance in May with the Crous on which they depend, said the Secretary of State for Youth, Gabriel Attal. As for non-students, recipients of housing assistance, they will automatically receive exceptional government assistance, through family allowance funds, he said.
The aid announced in April was not available to those under 25
Some 150 million euros have been earmarked for this measure, which aims to "limit the social impact of the Covid crisis", by responding to concrete situations, underlined Gabriel Attal. He gave as examples that of "the student who can no longer earn a little money by babysitting", or "eat for cheap at the university restaurant", or the young precarious who, because of the health crisis, lost his job and can no longer find another.
“These are situations that have been brought to my attention very strongly by the associations. Regularly cases arise, situations which could not be anticipated and it is necessary to bring an answer to them ”, he argued.
In mid-April, the government had already announced aid to the poorest households (recipients of social minima) of 150 euros, plus 100 euros per child, for a total of 880 million euros distributed to 4 million households. However, this aid, especially focused on families, was not available to young people under 25 years of age.
"A first step necessary", but "late" and "insufficient"
The aid announced Monday constitutes "a first necessary step", reacted the French Youth Forum (FFJ), which brings together "the main national organizations managed and animated by young people under 30". Recalling that the “singularity” of 18-25 year olds is “not having any safety net”, the organization deplores, however, the “punctual” nature of this aid, and its amount “much lower than the RSA level”.
For its part, the Federation of General Student Associations (Fage) welcomed a "first step", while regretting its "late nature" and "insufficient" because it excludes "young people in difficulty hosted by a third party or who live with their parents with very modest incomes and who are not attached to the tax household ", as well as" street youth ".
"Since the start of the crisis, many young people have been struggling to pay their rents or simply eat," said Fage, who is asking for aid "at least renewable until the end of August, because the crisis will have no doubt a significant impact on seasonal jobs ”. The organization "reiterates its request to open the RSA to 18-25 year olds".
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