As the beginning of the academic year draws closer, there's some bad news for university students, with living costs for those enrolled in higher education up by just over two percent. In 2015, the cost of living for students went up by 1.1 percent and by 1.23 percent in 2016. With rent amounting to around half of a student's budget - 53 percent according Unef - the price hike is no joke. Personal housing allowances benefit 6.5 million French homes, including around 800,000 students and cost the state 18 billion euros every year. Unsurprisingly, this won't be of much comfort for students studying at the moment in one of France's many university cities.

Source: The Local August 21, 2017 14:15 UTC