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1. Housing

2. Social services

3. Health care

4. Financial services

5. Quality assurance

 

Several initiatives promoting social inclusion—particularly through access to public services (healthcare, housing, etc.) have been implemented or renewed by public authorities.

In 2023, a study conducted in mainland France by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) shows that people aged 16 to 24 give their current life an average rating of 7.8 (on a scale of 0 to 10) (Source : INJEP (2025). Les chiffres clés de la jeunesse).

However, in 2021, 24% of young people aged 18 to 30 were not claiming the aid they were entitled to. Among these non-recipients, 30% were living on less than €1,200 per month, although they did not constitute the majority in this situation. A significant proportion of young people considered economically vulnerable reported that requesting help carries a “symbolic cost” (latest available data, DJEPVA (2021). Youth Barometer).

Moreover, unemployed youth are more likely to report not knowing whether they are receiving all the support to which they are entitled: 41% of unemployed young people are in this situation, compared to 33% of young people overall. This issue also affects 40% of those living in a hostel, university residence, or furnished hotel.

In this context, the government is working to diversify sources of information and improve the quality of the services offered.

 

Housing

According to the Youth Policy Advisory Council (Conseil d’orientation des politiques de jeunesse – COJ), the presence of young people in the social housing stock has significantly declined over the past decades. Between 1984 and 2013 (latest data available), the proportion of household heads under the age of 30 among social housing tenants dropped from 24% to only 8%. This decline is mainly due to the reduced production of social rental housing and low turnover within the existing stock (COJ (2025). Le logement des jeunes: une urgence sociale !).

At the same time, the proportion of young homeowners has also considerably decreased. In 2025, only 5% of young people became homeowners, compared to nearly 60% for the overall population.

Conversely, young people have increasingly turned to the private rental sector, which has been accompanied by rising rents. In 2025, 70.2% of young people under the age of 25 who had left the parental home were living in private-sector housing (COJ, 2025).

Furthermore, the financial burden of housing for young people has significantly increased. While tenants devoted 6.3% of their budget to housing in 1963, this share reached 26% in 2013. For young people, this rate is even higher: according to a 2023 student cost-of-living survey by the National Union of Students of France (Union nationale des étudiants de France - UNEF), housing accounted for an average of 60.58% of their expenses, making it their largest budget item (UNEF (2023). Enquête sur le coût de la vie étudiante.)

Today, young people often experience precarious residential autonomy, marked by strong material dependence on their families and by temporary or incomplete forms of leaving the parental home.

In 2020, nearly five million adults were still living with their parents—250,000 more than in 2013. Among them, 1,256,000 were aged 25 or older (latest data available, COJ, 2025). This situation reflects two realities: some have never left the family home, while others have returned after having lived independently for at least three months.

The latter is the more common case: in 2021, four out of ten young people living with their parents had previously experienced a period of independent living.

 

Access to social housing

In 2024, around 20% of social housing applicants were under the age of 30, including 12% who were students or apprentices, according to the Union sociale pour l’habitat (Union sociale pour l’habitat (2025). Dossier logement des jeunes).

According to a 2021 information report, there is an 'under-representation' of 18-30 year olds among social housing tenants for the following reasons

• 18-30 year olds experience frequent changes in housing "mobility": 40% of under 25s change housing each year, creating procedural difficulties in applying for social housing

• 18-30 year olds have needs linked to their activities, particularly for students, leading to a certain scarcity of the property sought (search for small areas, location of housing, transport infrastructure) - it should be noted that young students are also subject to high rental pressure in the major urban centres

• There are more priority groups under the age of 25 (21% of their age group in 2021), and therefore more competition.

In view of these facts, the objective of the public authorities is to facilitate access to housing adapted to the needs of young people and their resources. In response, the State, in partnership with institutional and associative actors, has put in place a "youth housing" strategy which has led to the implementation of several measures aimed at:

1. Easing access to rental housing through:

 

The LOKAVIZ mark

The LOKAVIZ mark is awarded to (private) student housing by the CNOUS and CROUSs. It enables students to be guaranteed decent housing and it enables owners to find tenants easily, in particular though the dedicated LOKAVIZ web site, which lists all charter-marked housing. The mark is awarded based on regulatory criteria for decent and for the energy performance of buildings, the amount of rent and charges, compliance with best practice between lessor and tenant, as well as location, taking account of the closeness of higher-education establishments, journey times by public transport or bicycle, as well as sports and cultural facilities. In 2019 (latest data), CROUS estimated that 60,000 people a year would find accommodation nationally.

 

The Visale facility

Young employees entering work can use the Visale – Visa for Accommodation and Work (Visa pour le Logement et l’Emploi) facility to guarantee payment of their rent arrears in the private housing sector. It involves young people between the ages of 18 and 30 regardless of their professional situation and any wage earner over the age of 30, from an agricultural company or a company from the private sector (or holder of an offer of work). At the end of 2022, 820,000 households were beneficiaries of the Visale guarantee. The average age of these beneficiaries is 24 years (2020).

 

The Loca-pass

Supported by Action Logement, the Loca-pass allows the payment of the housing deposit in the form of a zero interest loan. The scheme is aimed at employees in the non-agricultural private sector, young people under the age of 30 in vocational training, and student employees. In 2018, around 27 000 people were newly eligible for this scheme.

 

Mobili-Jeune aid

Supported by Action Logement, this aid is a subsidy covering between 10 and 100 euros of rent per month for a maximum of one year. It is aimed at young people under 30 years of age who are on a work-linked training contract (professionalisation or work-linked training contract), whose gross monthly salary does not exceed the minimum growth wage (SMIC) of 1,329 euros in 2022.

In 2018, 74,000 work-study students benefited from this. In 2021, the State has committed 11,000 aids for a total budget of 110 million euros.

 

The Housing solidarity fund (Fonds de solidarité pour le logement – FSL)

Present in every department (i.e. administrative divisions of France), the Housing Solidarity Fund (FSL) provides financial aid to individuals struggling to afford housing costs. It can take the form of a repayable loan or a non-repayable grant. The FSL may be used to cover move-in costs, such as the security deposit, first month’s rent, agency fees, moving expenses, home insurance, or essential household items. It may also help tenants remain in their housing by covering unpaid rent, utility bills (electricity, gas, water, phone), or legal fees incurred by bailiffs.

 

Other types of support:

Intergenerational co-housing

Some cities also promote intergenerational cohabitation. This consists in particular of older people providing a furnished room free of charge or at low cost in exchange for the regular presence of the young person at certain times of the week. This type of scheme is set up by the city of Paris, with the support of associations that facilitate the establishment of relationships.

 

Initiatives by associations - the AFEV's 'KAPS Program'

Set up with the support of public and private partners, the 'Kolocations à Projets Solidaires' (Shared housing with Solidarity Projects - KAPS) allow young people to live in shared flats and to get involved with the inhabitants of working-class neighbourhoods. An innovative and original concept, inspired by the Kots-à-Projets in Belgium, the KAPS are based on a simple principle: each shared flat has a corresponding solidarity action carried out with the inhabitants, in order to promote living together.

 

2. Facilitate access to ownership by:

 

The Zero-Rate Loan (Prêt à Taux Zéro - PTZ)

This loan has been reformed for first-time buyers (the reform came into force on 1 January 2016). It enables them to finance up to 40% of their housing on an interest-free basis. The loan can be used anywhere in France for buying a new-build or older property, and it can run for 20 or 25 years. The PTZ consists of a deferred-payment of between 5 and 15 years, during which the young person makes no monthly payments towards her/his loan.

The interest-free loan is a loan assisted by the State for first-timer buyers.  

 

The Social rental-to-ownership (Prêt Social Location-Accession – PSLA)

The PSLA is a government-approved loan granted to operators (social housing bodies, semi-public companies, private developers, etc.) to finance the construction or acquisition of new or, under certain conditions, older homes to be offered under a rent-to-own arrangement. The scheme offers several incentives to promote homeownership among low-income households:

• Cost control: both the rental portion of the monthly payment (during the rental phase) and the initial sale price (excluding VAT) are capped, ensuring financial accessibility.
• Favorable tax treatment: the scheme benefits from a reduced VAT rate of 5.5% and a 15-year exemption from property tax starting from the rental date.
• Targeted income requirements: Housing financed through the PSLA must be allocated to households whose income does not exceed intermediate-level ceilings, thus supporting access to ownership for modest-income households who are not eligible for deeply subsidized social housing.

 

The Solidarity real lease (Bail Réel Solidaire – BRS)

Launched in 2015 and reinforced by the ELAN law of 2018, the Solidarity real lease (Bail Réel Solidaire – BRS) aims to develop a stock of long-term, affordable social homeownership units. This scheme is based on the separation between land ownership and building ownership: the land remains the property of a Solidarity Land Organization (Organisme de Foncier Solidaire – OFS), while the buyer acquires the housing unit through a long-term lease (from 18 to 99 years) in exchange for a modest land lease fee.

The BRS allows modest-income households to access ownership in high-demand areas, while limiting real estate speculation and ensuring long-term affordability of the housing stock. The homes must serve as the primary residence of the buyer, and resale is subject to price caps.

Although still limited in scope, the scheme is growing rapidly. For example, only 5 BRS housing units were delivered in 2019, compared to 69 in 2020, 286 in 2021, 652 in 2022, and 2,272 sales were recorded in 2023. This rise illustrates the growing interest in this secure ownership model designed to meet the needs of low-income households amid growing housing market pressure.

 

3. Encourage access to housing by young people who are disadvantaged or who are in dire poverty

 

The Insertion and Probation Adviser (Conseiller d’Insertion et de Probation)

Providing better support for young people, especially the most disadvantaged, is also an essential challenge. Hence, young people placed under legal control are given individual support by a single reference person, the Insertion and Probation Adviser (Conseiller d’Insertion et de Probation), who is tasked with monitoring the young person and with supporting them, among other things, with housing access procedures. To those recent initiatives must be added traditional social-action facilities such as housing assistance.

 

Social housing allowance (Allocation de Logement à Caractère Social - ALS) and Personalized housing assistance (Aide Personnalisée au Logement - APL)

Young people can also benefit from Social-Housing Benefit (ALS) as well as Personalised Housing Assistance (APL) granted to tenants in subsidised housing (housing that is the subject of an agreement between the State and the housing owner). 

This aid is paid and supervised by the Family allowance fund (Caisse d'allocations familiales - CAF) under specific income conditions. No minimum age is require to apply for this aid.

APL is recalculated every three months based on the income of the past twelve months, declared during the application process. The average amount of APL per household varies depending on many factors, such as the housing location. (More information available on the CAF APL website page).

In 2021, the CAF paid a total national amount of 16-17 billion euros to approximately 6.5 million recipients.

 Students, in particular, constituted 791,000 beneficiaries in 2021,12% of the households concerned, plus 574,000 beneficiaries under the age of 25, i.e. 8.6% of the households concerned.

 

Young Workers’ Hostels or « Youth housing » (Foyers de Jeunes Travailleurs – FTJ)

Young people aged 16 to 30 who are employed, in apprenticeships, internships, or job-seeking can benefit from temporary accommodation in Young Workers’ Hostels (also known as "Youth housing"). These facilities provide transitional social housing, generally for a maximum of two years, with flexible and renewable monthly entry terms.

Managed by the National Union for Youth Housing (Union nationale pour l’habitat des jeunes – UNHAJ), FJTs aim to support the professional and social integration of young adults by offering a stable, affordable, and supervised living environment. In addition to housing, they offer shared services such as: low-cost meals, co-working spaces, socio-educational activities, laundry facilities, etc.

FJT accommodations must be approved by a regional commission, and their funding is supported in part by the CAF.

According to a 2021 study by INJEP, 45,000 FJT-certified housing units were identified at the start of 2022.

As of 2025, FJTs offer around 54,000 places, hosting over 90,000 young people per year, most of them aged 18 to 25.

The profile of residents clearly reflects the goal of professional integration:

• 32% are apprentices
• 24% are employed (temporary or permanent contracts, or temp work)
• 21% are students or pupils
• 10% are interns
• 6% are full-time employees

Two-thirds of residents are not from the same municipality where the FJT is located, highlighting their role in supporting residential independence and professional mobility (COJ (2025). Logement des jeunes : une urgence sociale !).

 

Social services

 

When young people suffer financial difficulties, they can turn to a number of social services. Those social services include some that are dedicated specifically to young people, whilst others deal with the public as a whole.

 

Social services aimed at young people

University social services

Higher-education establishments have their own social services co-ordinated by the Regional Centres for University and School Services (Centres Régionaux des Œuvres Universitaires et Scolaires - CROUS). CROUSs have their own social-service offices.

Within those services, young people can request specific financial aid: either one-off help in the case of serious financial difficulties, or an annual benefit (over 10 months) when they experience long-term financial difficulties and they do not receive any grants based on social criteria. That help is aimed at students under the age of 35 who are in financial difficulty. There is no age limit for disable people.

Furthermore, the handicapped or people with health problems can benefit from scholarships from university foundations overseen by the CROUS.   These scholarships are for students who, due to an accident or illness, cannot afford to begin or continue their studies.  

All those requests for specific help are examined by a commission chaired by the CROUS Director.

 

Local missions

Local missions (see Section 4.2) can support young people when the latter are faced with serious difficulties, in particular by giving them access to the Youth Assistance Fund (Fonds d’Aide aux Jeunes - FAJ). The FAJ is a facility for providing temporary financial help that is managed and financed by the départements. It is aimed at young adults (aged 18 to 25) who are experiencing social difficulty, and it includes three types of assistance:

• temporary help: exceptional financial help to deal with an emergency (food purchases, transport costs, healthcare expenditure, etc.) or with emergency housing
• financial help with an insertion project (placements, etc.)
• financial help lined to support action: long-term support (health, etc.).

That help is given after a request is made to local missions, and it is means-tested as well as status-based. The amount given varies by département.

 

Social services for the general public

Young people can also use more general social services, such as the Family Allowances Fund and the social-action centres of their communes.

 

The Family Allowances Fund (Caiise d'Allocation Familale - CAF) (See Glossary)

Several CAF facilities and services are offered to people to ease their insertion into society and to bring them out of their financial and social difficulties:

• the Earned Income Supplement (Revenu de Solidarité Active - RSA), which supplements low earnings in order to provide a minimum income. The facility was established by law no. 2008-1249 of 1 December 2008, and carries on from the RMI – Job-Seeker’s Allowance (Revenu Minimum d’Insertion, set up in 1988), by providing a minimum income to the very poorest people. Entitlement to the RSA begins at age 25; however, since 1 September 2010, it has also been available to young working people aged under 25 (decree no. 2010-961 of 25 August 2010 on extending the Earned Income Supplement (Revenu de Solidarité Active) to young people aged under twenty-five) if they meet certain criteria. On 1 January 2016, the government established “Work Credit (Prime d’Activité)”, which merges “work” RSA and “employment credit”, which was an income supplement paid by the State to employees whose income did not exceed a certain amount.
• Work Credit (Prime d’Activité), partly aimed at young working people (from age 18 onwards). Its aim is to “encourage a return to professional work”, in particular by supplementing the income of workers of modest means. Its amount is calculated on the basis of the composition and resources of the household, and on the basis of the beneficiaries’ income level. A reform of the "Work Credit" is currently underway.
• Family Support Allowance (Allocation de Soutien Familial), which is paid to bring up a child who does not receive help from either or both of its parents, or to top up a low-amount maintenance allowance
• Disabled Adults’ Allowance (Allocation aux Adultes Handicapés - AAH), to provide a minimum income for disabled people. The AAH is financed by the State and paid by the CAF – Family Allowances Funds (Caisses d’Allocations Familiales).

 

Social-action centres

Communes have a Communal Social-Action Centre (Centre Communal d’Action Sociale - CCAS). That administrative public establishment is tasked with putting in place the commune’s social policy, and it is aimed particularly at young people in precarity. Its mission is to help poor people with administrative formalities and with completing applications to receive medical help, social housing, and financial help.

 

 

Health care

For more information, see Chapter 7 on Health and well-being

According to the National Institute of Popular Education and Youth (INJEP), 26.5% of women and 15.2% of men aged 18-24 report having experienced a major depressive episode in the past twelve months (INJEP (2025). Chiffres clés de la jeunesse). Suicide is also the second leading cause of death (after road accidents) between the ages of 10 and 25 (Ministry in charge of Health (2026). La politique de prévention au suicide). The health crisis has unfortunately aggravated this situation, with an increase in depressive states, which affected a quarter of women aged 15 to 24 at the end of 2020 (Santé publique France (2025). Épisodes dépressifs : prévalence et recours aux soins. Baromètre de Santé publique France : résultats de l’édition 2024).

The Law on modernising the health system, enacted in 2016, affirmed its aim to “support for young people in equality of heath opportunities”. The law encourages, amongst other things, access to health entitlements and services through various initiatives that facilitate access to care and prevention:

Access to care

• Young people under the age of 16 can benefit from a medical reference person in the shape of the physician chosen by the family.
• The validity period of medical certificates has been reformed, making it easier for young people to obtain a medical certificate to practise a sport.
• Measures enabling young people to have better financial cover for their healthcare expenditure, such as the general application of the system of third-party payment and simplifying access to Help with paying for additional Health Insurance (Aide du paiement à une Complémentaire Santé - ACS).
• Students who have experienced family breakdown and who receive specific help can make an application for ACS – Help with paying for Additional Health Insurance (Aide du paiement à une Complémentaire Santé), and benefit from Additional Universal Health Insurance (Couverture Maladie Universelle Complémentaire - CMU-C). CMU-C is free additional health insurance aimed at facilitating access to care for people living in France on a stable basis and who are of modest means.

 

Risk prevention

Since 2023, initiatives related to sexual health have also been implemented, including the free provision of emergency contraception in pharmacies without a medical prescription or upfront payment, for both minors and adults. People under 26 also have free access to contraceptives, as well as to medical consultations and any necessary examinations for prescriptions.

Measures for preventing risky behaviour have been reinforced in partnership with school and higher-education establishments:

• (secondary-) school establishments can set up campaigns to prevent addictive behaviour in a school setting: pupils are informed of the dangerous nature of products (tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs) and their effects, as well as of current legislation
• in order to provide training in the problems of addictive behaviour, school establishments, DGESCO – Directorate General of School Education  and MILDECA – Cross-Ministerial Mission on the Fight against Drugs and Addictive Behaviour (Mission Interministérielle de Lutte contre les Drogues et les Conduites Addictives) have produced a guide for people working in a school setting.
• Each higher-education establishment has an inter-university department for student health with the role of advising and guiding young people, as well as carrying out actions on prevention and information for health. Several actions for preventing risky behaviour have also been set up within those structures, such as the appointment of “health relay” students. The role of those young people is to inform and guide their colleagues in relation to health problems. They are the interface between medical and social professionals, university institutions, and students.

 

For more information, see Chapters 7.2. Health and well-being, administration and governance - intersectorial cooperation, and Chapter 7.4. Health and well-being, healthy lifestyles and healthy nutrition.

 

Financial services

Young people faced with financial difficulties can have access to specific help by applying to social services, but they can also turn to arrangements and facilities for providing financial help, which help them with their insertion into society. Those facilities include:

Work Credit (Prime d’Activité)

Young job-seekers can also receive Work Credit. Set up on 1 January 2016, the credit enables support to be given to the activity and buying power of employees in precarity; Students and apprentices can also be entitled to it if they show sufficient earned income.  At the beginning of 2023, the activity allowance underwent a reform leading to changes in terms of resource ceilings and the amounts allocated.

Grants based on social criteria

Depending on their parents’ income, the number of children, and the distance from their place of study, students aged under 28 can be entitled to a grant based on social criteria that can enable them to meet their expenses and follow their academic curriculum. Grants are paid for 10 months. The amount paid varies according to the level of each student (the level is defined on the basis of social criteria), from 0, which grants exemption from university registration fees and from payment of student social-security contributions, to 7. In the year 2020-2021, 749,562 students received scholarships, the largest share of which was in step 0 (238,162 students) and step 1 (105,137 students). 56,092 students received a step 7 grant.

Merit-Based Help (Aide au Mérite)

Student can obtain other types of help, such as Merit-Based Help (Aide au Mérite), an supplement to the grant based on social criteria for higher-education students who obtained a “Très Bien” (“with high honors”) grade in their baccalauréat (a national qualification issued at the end of secondary studies). In addition, students who prepare for one or more civil-service exams can, depending on the results obtained in their previous studies, receive the Diversity in public service allocation ("talents grant"),  which stands at 2,000 euros.

Eligibility is based on both previous academic performance and social criteria, to support high-achieving candidates from underprivileged backgrounds. (For more information : Service publique (2025). Les bourses talent).

Licence at One Euro per Day (Permis à Un Euro par Jour)

It has been made easier for unemployed young people aged 15 to 25 to undertake driver training, in particular by relaxing the terms and conditions for the Driving Licence at One Euro per Day. The maximum amount of the loan granted to young people to finance the driving licence is 1,200 euros.

The State-guaranteed student loan

This loan helps young French people or nationals of a European Economic Area countries under the age of 28 to finance their studies. Young people must apply to the banks that are partners in the operation. Repayment of the loan, which can be deferred until the end of the studies, gives rise to the payment of interest. In 2021, the loan capacity will be €675 million, thanks in particular to a €16 million contribution from the recovery plan, enabling 55 000 students to benefit from the scheme (compared with €135 million and 7 500 beneficiaries in 2020).

 

Quality assurance

The evaluation of the quality of these various services does not follow a standardized approach. It is also necessary to distinguish between the impact assessment of schemes targeting young people and the control of the quality of services provided (such as guidance, etc.). The former may be subject to internal evaluation (through ministerial statistics and research departments) and/or qualitative evaluation by external actors (academic laboratories, evaluation agencies, research firms, etc.), while the latter may be assessed through satisfaction surveys or polls conducted by the institution itself.

Satisfaction survey 

As an example of satisfaction survey , the Family Allowances Funds (Caisses d’Allocations Familiales) can carry out their own surveys. The CROUSs (See. 4.7), a student public services also carry out annual surveys on the quality of their services, especially university catering. In order to improve their services on campus, anticipate student expectations and modernize their structures, the CROUSs regularly conduct satisfaction surveys. In 2016, two large-scale surveys were conducted on catering and housing.

Furthermore, the Observatory of Student Life (Observatoire de la Vie Étudiante) carries out surveys every three years on students’ living conditions, in order to provide information to public authorities and improve students’ living conditions.

 

Policies evaluation

The evaluation of the effects and impacts of social policies is recurrent. Some evaluation are archieved by inspectorate services  as the cross-ministerial inspectorate of the social sector which carries out monitoring, audit and evaluation missions. The Department of research studies, evaluation and statistics (DREES) is a directorate of the ministry in charge of health and social affairs. Its role is also to contribute to the evaluation of social policies and produce synthesis work (living condiditions of young adults, the state of population health in France, social protection schemes...).