“I’m 24 years old and I earn 4,600 euros net per month.” Thus begins the autobiographical article signed by Jules, a young French official who works at the ‘Interministerial Directorate for Digital’ (Dinum) as an expert in artificial intelligence. His is one of the many stories told by the French newspaper ‘Le Monde’, which every week talks about money with young people of the new generations, to scrutinize their desires and to understand what relationship they have with money.
School and university
Raised in Poitiers, Jules talks about his passion for politics and how he forged ahead since childhood. “At five years old,” he writes, “I conducted a survey among my classmates to find out how their parents had voted in the second round of the 2007 presidential election. The following year, in first grade, I created and circulated a petition among my classmates asking them to ‘live in a world where everyone has their place’. I collected 80 signatures and sent it to the President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy. I never received a response.”
The son of two teachers, he then graduated with an average above 19/20 and was admitted to Sciences Po University, one of the main schools of political training, as grand admis, without having to take written tests. Having landed in Paris, he lived in a room of just 5 square meters, paying 500 euros. “I wasn’t able to negotiate” the young man says again in ‘Le Monde’ explaining that at the time he got by with private tutors earning around 600 euros a month.
A dazzling career
Not bad. Jules’ career would soon take off. “During my third year of university,” he continues, “I did an internship at the ‘Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs’, receiving a monthly allowance of 600 euros. In June 2024 I was offered a fixed-term contract for 2,100 euros net. I no longer needed the financial support of my parents. I moved into a 38 square meter apartment shared with another person in the Nation neighborhood, paying 785 euros each.”
Jules then enters the Insp, the Institut national du service public, for an 18-month training course. Once the training is completed, he returns to Dinum, the state body that deals with digital, with a salary of 4,600 euros net per month.
“I feel overpaid, I don’t deserve it”
A brilliant career. But in short, beyond the brilliant cursus honorum, the meaning of the story lies in the relationship between Jules and money, from which almost a sense of guilt transpires. “I feel overpaid” says the young man. “Earning so much at my age is indecent. Even though it’s my first salary, I already earn more than my father and mother, who have much more structured careers. I feel I don’t deserve it.”
Thanks to the considerable income as ‘administrateur de l’État’, Jules managed to buy a 4-room apartment in Bagneux, a suburb of Paris, for 300 thousand euros. He paid 60,000 euros in advance thanks to his savings, taking out a 20-year mortgage to pay off the rest. Every month he pays 1,500 euros, but to lighten the burden of the installments he has rented the other two rooms for 570 euros each, “a price lower than the market price”.
“I save 1,800 euros a month, I don’t think I’ll have a pension”
Although he has no shortage of money, the young man has maintained a frugal lifestyle. “After paying the bills, I manage to save around 1,800 euros a month. That money is for my pension,” he writes. “I don’t think I’ll be eligible when the time comes. I think the government’s job will be to help the most vulnerable, and I won’t be one of them.” Jules says he received much more attractive offers from defense companies willing to pay him more than double what he earns today, but he refused. Because he wants to do something for the state.
“I received a free education thanks to the public school system, to which I owe a lot. I have to give back to the Republic what it gave me” he explains. “Just like when I was in middle school, what motivates me is working for the greater good.” The article ends with a confession. “Elections for the highest office in the country will be held in a few months. The prospect of becoming a public official under a presidency that goes against my values terrifies me.”