French towns experiment with minimum income for students

Several towns in France are experimenting with a ‘minimum income’ for higher education students, to help tackle student poverty and boost local economies, writes Zane Lilley for The Connexion.

The scheme sees students who fulfil criteria – such as being enrolled in higher education, within a certain age range, and living in the town for a certain period of time – able to receive a monthly bursary from local authorities. The bursary is known as a revenu minimum étudiant (RME) and can reach up to €4,000 (US$4,450) per year in some areas.

Its aim is to help top up the income students have available to them, preventing them from living in poverty, as well as requiring them to work fewer hours at part-time jobs and focus more on studying. Unlike bursaries and scholarships, the scheme is available to any student fulfilling the criteria, allowing middle-class students who fall through the funding net to apply also.
Full report on the Connexion France site