2023-10-20 12:39:37
During an impromptu exchange with young people in Paris, Emmanuel Macron expressed this Thursday, October 19, his opposition to a universal income for students. Faithful to his principles of rights and duties, he affirmed during this exchange: “There is no country that helps students more than France on a social level” but “I am not in favor of say, at 18, we have the right to a universal income without obligation”.
Emmanuel Macron thus responding to the call of the fourteen university presidents who called in September in an article published by Le Monde for the creation of a “study allowance for all students”, in order to “curb poverty” , facilitate “the development of autonomy” of young people and their access to higher education.
Restore work value
Thus he justified his position: “I believe in qualifying studies to get a job and, behind that, I believe in work. And one of the problems we have in our country today is that we also have a whole generation who had an RSA (active solidarity income, Editor’s note) and who are still prevented from going to work or who has become unaccustomed to going to work.”
“I am in favor of improving the system. But I am not for an unconditional universal income,” he added, saying he was in favor of “more control over attendance at exams and success in exams.” “Because today we also distribute a lot of scholarships to students who do not go (for exams, Editor’s note). In the queues for food aid, we also have a lot of foreign students,” he argued.
Encourage students to go to cheaper cities.
But, the president admitted, “there are still too many students who are in precarious circumstances, especially in big cities where housing is expensive.” So he developed his vision in 3 points to resolve the problem of student precariousness: “one, that we help to develop studies in cities where it is less expensive. Two, that we finally have the answer – this is where we are not good – on student housing. We need to bring down the price of student accommodation. Three, that we have student jobs, when necessary, adapted to studies.
The head of state was also questioned by a young person regarding “increasingly expensive shopping”. “They tell us to turn down the heating but they take private jets, it’s nonsense,” said one student. “I don’t take private jets,” replied Emmanuel Macron. “Then it is not the government that sets food prices,” he continued. “On energy, all last year we wrote checks to cover more than the increase in prices “.
A young person, requested by the president, then put forward an explanation on the reasons for the urban riots at the end of June and the beginning of July. “Why did they do that? Because they grow up in neighborhoods where there is nothing,” he said, referring to the situation in his town of Clichy-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis). “I think that burning or attacking that has never solved a problem,” replied the head of state.
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