It is a budgetary restriction that could make a lot of noise. The territorial cohesion ministry said on Saturday that the government would reduce personal housing assistance (APL) by five euros per month from October 1, 2017.
The APL will suffer "a drop of 5 euros per month per household from October following the application of a reform of budgetary economy decided in the previous five years and not yet applied," said an official of the ministry, by specifying that an outright abolition of APL, mentioned by some media, "has never been envisaged" and would "make no sense". The APL benefits 2,6 million households, including 800.000 students, and represents 20 billion euros in spending for the state coffers. The aid is allocated on a means-tested basis to all people who rent accommodation. Its purpose is to "reduce the amount of your rent or monthly mortgage", according to the definition of Public Service.
In addition to the policies, this announcement also strongly reacted on the side of the students and their unions. In fact, they are the ones who benefit the most from this aid to pay their rent during their studies. UNEF has, for example, published an online petition.
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