School supplies will suffer unprecedented inflation, estimated at between 10 and 40% depending on the product. A blow for parents, who could be assisted by an increase in family allowance benefits.
[Mise à jour du 23 juin 2022 à 12h12] School supplies are not immune to inflation, and just like foodstuffs or energy, will undergo a considerable rise in prices. A real harm to families, with rates 10% to 40% more expensive. Schoolbags, pens and other notebooks will weigh so heavily on family budgets that the FCPE, the first federation of parents of students, is calling for exceptional measures. Moreover, during his election campaign, Emmanuel Macron had promised the indexation of social minima to inflation. Will family allowances benefit from this? According to the economic newspaper The echoesthey may well be upgraded.
School supplies: rupture avoided, inflation forced
Preparing for the next school year has proven to be complicated for school supply suppliers. Suffering themselves from a rise in the price of raw materials, they also encountered production difficulties, also risking a shortage.. “We combine an acceleration of crazy inflation and above all a shortage of constituent elements of products without substitution. The cover of the notebook in paper, thicker or in plastic, is complicated to find, and also the packaging. And at one point, we even thought that we would no longer have labels. explained Guillaume Nusse, CEO of Clairefontaine, to FranceInfo. In fact, all these hazards will be felt on the bill of the parents, even if – competition obliges – the resellers will offer the tightest possible prices. Nevertheless, it is still recommended, while the school year is not over, to start stocking up on school supplies and to watch for promotions. Buy in batches, by class groups, in supply exchanges or in clearance stores, all means are good to save money and above all, to plan for the necessary for the whole year. Because after the special offers proposed for the start of the school year, a change in prices is not excluded.
Revaluation of the back-to-school allowance
In exceptional circumstances, exceptional measures. In the most extreme cases, some products could cost 40% more. Therefore, some families will not be able to finance these purchases. The FCPE is thus calling for a revaluation of the back-to-school allowance, the ARS, indexed to the inflation of supplies. “Necessary and essential” according to Eric Labastie, its general secretary, who also recommends its payment from next month, in July, rather than the end of August as usual “so that families can build their back-to-school budget in the most appropriate way possible “. And it’s not just the supplies that will give rise to a particularly bad start to the school year: the price of meals in the school canteen will also be revised upwards. So, in view of all these increases, can parents hope for an increase in Family Allowances? This is clearly not excluded for the economic newspaper Les Echos, which, based on the promises of the presidential campaign of Emmanuel Macron, and especially on the indexation of pensions on inflation planned for August, estimates a next increase in family benefits to 4%. This would take place before the deadlines normally scheduled for January and April 2023. Help which would in any case be more than welcome for households.