Olympics 2024: Will students really be left out of the crous?
Students renting Crous apartments in Île-de-France will face a difficult situation during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Crous has announced that these students will have to vacate their accommodation for the duration of the Games to accommodate the volunteers and partners mobilized for the event. This decision triggered violent reactions from the students concerned.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are an exceptional event for France. With this in mind, the crous of the Île-de-France, in particular the crous of the Versailles Academy (Regional Center for University and School Work) are mobilizing to contribute to the success of this major sporting event. Clément Cadoret, deputy director general of the Cnous (National Center for University and School Works), at the invitation of BFMTV, announced on May 12 that around ten of the 150 residences in the Île-de-France were affected (ie around 7%). dormitories), which could affect nearly 3,000 students. David Martinez, in charge of the communications mission at the Cnous, stressed that during the summer holiday period, many public accommodations managed by the Crous are unoccupied (30% of the accommodations currently vacant). For the months of July and August 2024, however, the need for housing will be extraordinarily high.
Students staying in Crous halls of residence have therefore been informed by email:
“We inform you that the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games asks us to make the Crous Residence, where you are currently staying, available during the months of July and August 2024 to welcome the volunteers and partners mobilized for the event place. […] On the 1st the apartment must be emptyIs July 2024″.
dispute aboutit studentsCROUS residents, repressedduring the Olympic Games from Paris-2024
This procurement of living space is not well received by the students. Krista Haro, a political science student at the University of Paris-Nanterre, expresses her concern about this situation:
“I will find myself in a very difficult situation. I will have to move, make new visits and leave my apartment to enter a competition that is of no use to the students.”
Youness, a student in the same situation, said:
“It took me months to find university accommodation in Paris. I don’t think they can walk from accommodation to student accommodation without encountering problems, even for those who work on complicated schedules and cannot afford to move.”
DHousing options for students : individual care suggest by CROUS
The Crous has tried to allay students’ concerns by pointing out that those wishing to remain in Île-de-France during this time will be temporarily relocated elsewhere. In addition, students whose housing is renewed are guaranteed to find it by the start of the September 2024 school year without having to pay rent during the summer period. Also on BFMTV, Clément Cadoret, deputy director general of the Cnous, stressed on May 12 that “the concerns expressed by the students are obviously justified”, but reiterated that the organization will provide individual support to students who wish to stay in nearby accommodation in the Summer. There will be “no additional costs for students and all students will of course be accompanied,” he said.
Response of the student unions to the obligation to leave accommodations in Crous
This response from Crous did not calm the critics. Iman Ouelhadj, President of UNEF, regrets that young students are being forced to leave their place of residence. She considers this decision “grotesque”, especially since many students work in the summer and need their accommodation. In her opinion, if the government wants to use Crous flats, it should do so for empty houses. Students should not be penalized or used as an adjustment variable for the Olympics.
The Studentenwerke denounce the stress and difficulties caused by the obligation to relocate for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Adrien Liénard, UNEF National Treasurer, warns that this announcement creates unjustified stress for people who often live in precarious conditions, especially in Paris. He believes that students’ real problems should be resolved before they are charged the cost of an event that does not directly affect them.
He also expresses doubts about the Crous’ ability to provide individualized support tailored to each student. In particular, the delays in processing apartment files where waiting students cannot find an apartment solution. According to him, it is inevitable that some students will feel uncomfortable and have difficulties when moving and relocating. It challenges the Crous’s ability, which is understaffed, to properly manage student housing files. And it highlights the lack of human and material resources that the state dedicates to effectively manage student housing records. He believes that despite the Crous’s laudable intentions to help the affected students, the necessary resources are not being made available:
“We have serious doubts about the implementation of the case-by-case support when we see the delays in processing certain housing files where waiting students are on the street. There will inevitably be abandoned students who will have difficulties. »
Adrien Liénard’s comments reflect student unions’ concerns about the consequences of this decision for students who are already facing financial and housing problems. They call for more attention to the real problems of students and a better allocation of resources to cover their housing needs.
A petition has been put online to say ‘No to the eviction of students from their accommodation in Crous’: ‘This is a scandal.’ We will evict people in vulnerable situations to accommodate others who have the means! » we can read. Or: “Stand up for this petition to say no to this aberration!” “. So far, the petition has collected 16,447 signatures.
A home seizure was also denounced in a tweet from Sandrine Rousseau, EELV MP: “The organization of the Olympic and Paralympic Games must not be done on the backs of those most in need.”.
