C’est la rentrée! It’s back-to-school time in France! The primary day again for college students in any respect public colleges nationwide is Monday, September 1, 2025, and together with that comes faculty provides procuring. Let’s check out what faculty provides French youngsters want earlier than they head again to class.
P.S. When you’re on the lookout for souvenirs from France, French faculty provides are the right selection!
French faculty provides
I liked back-to-school procuring once I was a child. Between the brand new garments and footwear and all of the pens and notebooks, I used to be in my glory. I preferred faculty and thought it was tremendous thrilling to get all the pieces I wanted for sophistication.
As an grownup, I’ve a little bit of an obsession with notebooks and funky pens, so it’s no marvel I’m writing about back-to-school provides. I went out to purchase a number of issues although we don’t have youngsters as a result of, nicely, it’s enjoyable and you may by no means have too many notebooks and pens.
In France, each scholar will get an inventory of what his or her faculty requires for the upcoming yr, much like what I bear in mind receiving from my instructor as a child rising up in suburban New Jersey.
What stands out to me about this French listing is how lengthy and detailed it’s, even the essential listing. In lots of circumstances, you’ll see actual sizes and colours famous for all the French faculty provides on the listing.
The interpretation of college provides in French is les fournitures scolaires and also you’ll see that on the prime of the college provides in French listing beneath.
Searching for a French faculty provides retailer? You should purchase faculty provides in France each in particular person or on-line at grocery shops, workplace provide shops like Bureau Vallée or Workplace Depot, or impartial stationery shops. There’s additionally Cultura which has music/DVDs, books, arts and crafts, and extra.
BIC is a well-liked model and about 50% of BIC merchandise bought in France are made at one of many seven BIC factories in France.
Right here’s a take a look at the essential French faculty provides that each one middle-school youngsters want for 2025:
On prime of the essential listing, particular person colleges have their very own lists that construct upon the fundamentals pictured above. As youngsters become old, the lists get extra difficult. Assume particular fountain pens, dictionaries, and paperclips. The lists can get lengthy and may even change into one thing that households dread and joke about.
It may be anxious for fogeys to have to buy particular manufacturers of highlighters or glue sticks or discover notebooks with the precise dimensions required, a lot in order that there are web sites that do the college looking for you and ship all the pieces to your house.
How’s that for a French faculty provides retailer? You ship the location your particular faculty’s listing they usually maintain it for you. No stress!
Faculty provides additionally get costly. The nice factor is that for households who earn below a sure amount of cash, there’s authorities monetary help that goes towards back-to-school procuring to make sure that each scholar can have what’s obligatory to start out the college yr off on the suitable foot.
The allocation de rentrée scolaire can vary as much as 500 € per youngster relying on the age of the kids within the family. This yr, 35,008 € is the max revenue a household with two kids can earn to qualify for the subsidy. In 2020, the allotment was 100 € greater than common as a result of pandemic.
Listed below are the French faculty provides that I purchased and can use in my workplace (that additionally make nice souvenirs from France):
Pencil case: This roomy BIC pencil case is made in France and options just a little crimson, white, and blue to point out off your patriotic aspect. It zips closed.
Fountain pen: I at all times received a chuckle out of French youngsters utilizing their fountain pens. I don’t assume I had ever used one at the same time as an grownup. They appear fancy in my head and extra difficult than they have to be.
French youngsters do have ballpoint pens, as famous on the essential provides listing above, however from early center faculty on, many French academics require schoolwork to be completed with fountain pens just like the BIC one right here. They require replaceable ink cartridges that you would be able to purchase individually.
Eraser pens: These PaperMate magic eraser pens are a French faculty provide staple. They caught my eye the primary day of sophistication once I was instructing as a result of we don’t actually have them within the USA, or if we do they aren’t mainstream for teenagers in all places.
Opposite to what I assumed, they aren’t pens that you just use to put in writing with that simply have erasable ink. They’re solely used to make corrections once you use your fountain pen.
Since there’s no eraser on a fountain pen, these particular pens turn out to be useful once you make a mistake in ink and have to erase. You utilize the white finish to take away the error after which write over it with the ink on the blue finish.
Your common fountain pen ink gained’t write over the half that you just erased with the white finish, so that you want this particular blue ink finish to make the correction.
Pencils: These pencils got here in a pack of 4 and had been pre-sharpened. That is what they seem like proper out of the bundle.
Pastel highlighters: I just like the gentle pastels as a substitute of the intense fluorescent colours. Even for those who’re not a scholar highlighting traces in textbooks, they’re nice for highlighting appointment instances in your planner or making a extra colourful to-do listing.
Grid pocket book: Clairefontaine and Rhodia (acquired by Clairefontaine in 1997) are two common manufacturers of notebooks youngsters use. The pages have grid paper — tiny squares — as a substitute of traces.
Folders: These colourful folders are tremendous widespread even with adults. Any time you may have a gathering on the financial institution or anyplace, you’ll convey all of your paperwork in a folder like this with an elastic strap to maintain all the pieces inside.
France vs. USA faculty provides
Listed below are a few issues I’ve seen about back-to-school provides in France which are completely different than how youngsters do issues within the USA. Though I don’t have youngsters, I received a first-hand take a look at colleges in France once I taught in French major colleges:
-After I was in grade faculty, we wrote with pencils. In France, fountain pens are far more widespread, even for math, particularly on the center faculty stage and above. I discover that youngsters write with ink far more typically in France than within the USA.
-The eraser pens pictured earlier within the put up are a should to be able to appropriate errors you’ve made in ink. Each scholar has a number of of their pencil case. I’ve by no means seen them within the USA.
–Notebooks have grid traces that kind squares in France — they usually aren’t only for math. Lined notebooks/paper that college students generally use within the USA are much less widespread in France and are a French faculty provides listing should.
Photograph credit score: www.AnnieAndre.com
–College students write in cursive by default and it’s fairly elaborate with numerous loops. It’s taught in major faculty and also you gained’t discover college students submitting assignments with printed/block letters. They write in crazy cursive in French colleges, as proven above.
Faculty provides in France=French souvenirs
On the subject of souvenirs from France, you may have so many decisions. When you’re into stationery and notebooks like I’m, French faculty provides make good French souvenirs. Small, straightforward to pack, and helpful for adults and children, colourful folders, pens, and pencil circumstances are enjoyable methods to recollect your journey to France.
What souvenirs from France are your favourite? Would you think about faculty provides from France as a present?
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Hope you loved this take a look at French faculty provides!
Disclosure: I paid for the French faculty provides seen right here with my very own funds. Nothing is sponsored. This put up does comprise affiliate hyperlinks.
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