School supplies slightly up
It is costing parents a fraction more to equip children for school this year than in 2009, a study shows
THE cost of equipping a child to start secondary school is slightly up this year at €175.33, according to the association Familles de France.
The body, which carries out a study before the rentrée (return to school) each year, said this is 0.63% more than last year. Its president, described this as a “slightly painful” for families, after the government promised there would be no rise at all.
This follows two years of significant drops in the price in 2008 and 2009.
The association said that on the whole the cost of stationery is slightly down but the cost of sports clothing is up.
They also criticized the overall quality of items in the essentials de la rentrée range, a selection of key items with an official logo, on which shops pledge to keep prices low.
“We are all for lower prices, but we want quality as well,” said a Familles de France spokeswoman, Christiane Thierry. She suggested families do not go for the cheapest school bags because they will soon wear out.
They said supermarkets are better value than specialist suppliers.
A rival association, La Confédération Syndicale des Familles, which will reveal its own results next week, also predicts a slight increase.
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