It should have been a piece of cake. With a permanent contract (known as a CDI in France), a net income of €3,000 per month, and two parents willing to act as guarantors, Lucas, 26, confidently embarked on his search for housing in Paris. (All names in this article have been changed.) Originally from the southwest of France, the engineering school graduate was hired at the beginning of 2023, right out of school, as a web developer in a startup. At that time, he found a furnished room in a shared apartment without much difficulty. But a year later, when his lease was not renewed, it was a different story.
“I found very few listings,” explained the young engineer, who then decided to broaden his search. With a former classmate, who, like him, could pay up to €1,000 per month for rent, he also looked at vacant apartments. Without success. “We went on visits, but landlords always preferred renting to couples,” Lucas recounted. Starting in May, the offers dwindled even further, as landlords preferred to reserve their properties to rent to tourists during the Olympic Games.
Out of options, Lucas ended up returning to his parents’ home in the south, where he worked remotely for two months. Since mid-November 2024, he has been back in Paris, subletting the maid’s room his brother used to live in, for €500 per month for 14 m2. “At least I have something stable. It saves me from being at my parents’ or crashing on a friend’s couch,” said the young graduate, who finds the situation a bit “crazy.”
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