(Credit: O. Réal) – Jean-Luc Moya and Geneviève Marc, director and deputy director of the Banque de France in Var.
Since 2016, the national operator of Educfi, the Banque de France, organizes a Financial Education Week every year in France, in this case from March 18 to 24 under the generic name “Protect your money, secure your future”.
Jean-Luc Moya and Geneviève Marc, director and deputy director of the Banque de France in Var, organized interventions in the department, thanks to several events in Les Arcs and Toulon, looking forward to the fact that from 2023 all 4th grade students have the right to their “Edukfi passport”.
A big leap in colleges in the form of a 6-chapter module on good budget management (how to do it, knowing resources and costs, keeping track of bills, etc.). “We also give them small practical applications on savings, agio, loans, especially student loans, and interest calculation. It's just math. At the faculties, passports are also carried by mathematics professors and school principals. He is very specific. We are ending payment methods and fraud warnings,” they point out.
Broad awareness
Another target group, social workers, to ensure that files on over-indebtedness are as complete as possible. CCAS, the social services of the Department or the Var Employers' Union, raise awareness through webinars for better support for people in financially sensitive situations.
The general public is also concerned about briefings on financial aspects from a general point of view. Students also benefit from it, as do the young people of École de la 2e Chance du Var, especially with the help of the in-house escape game “Sur la piste de Mathieu”.
For management, project managers, creators, support is offered throughout the life of the company regarding their financial problems. This is part of monetary policy. It is about reaching a wide audience, young people, adults, entrepreneurs all over the country. “If education is expensive to you, try ignorance,” said former Harvard President Derek Bok…
Over-indebtedness on the rise
According to the latest data from the Banque de France, the number of over-indebted persons shows an upward trend, up to +8% in 2023 or 121,000 files, which still corresponds to a level 15% lower than the reference level in 2019. In Var, there is only an increase in files submitted to the commission for over-indebtedness.
+ 0.3%, or 2337 files (- 18.9% compared to 2019). This debt amounts to a total of 105 million euros. 35% are consumer debts, 23% are real estate debts, 16% are debts for current expenses and other debts. Per 100,000 inhabitants, the Var has a total of 248 files, compared to 224 for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and 226 nationally. The share of over-indebted women in the department is greater than 56.3% compared to men, while the share of women is 52.8%, and the share of single-parent families increases from 72.1% to 77.1%. The average debt, excluding real estate, in Var is 18,787 euros, less than in Paca, 19,302 euros, and more than in France, 16,898 euros. In addition, Banque de France has established financial inclusion services in Var to inform, guide and support people experiencing financial difficulties.