Annexes
Programme of national discovery
Costing and details of the school trips project
€3.97 billionAnnual agency cost
€5,044Average cost /pupil /education
-58%Saving vs market price
787,298Pupils per annual cohort
Programme overview
In the framework of the French-style republican monarchy project, this programme guarantees every French student the discovery of all national territories over the course of their schooling. It rests on the principle of absolute equality between all French people, regardless of their geographic origin.
A dedicated agency, state-owned, operates within a closed 100% French network: a fleet of its own planes and boats, dedicated hostels in each territory, permanent salaried guides. It eliminates all dependency on foreign private operators and maximizes economies of scale.
Itinerant mainland circuit
The mainland circuit is an itinerant circuit comprising five weekly stops, each stop in a different department. Mainland students thus discover 10 departments over 2 weeks, while overseas students discover 15 over 3 weeks. The itineraries are defined by the agency to guarantee the geographic, economic and cultural diversity of the territories crossed - alternating regional cities, rural areas, coastline, mountains and industrial or historical heritage. The list of stops is not fixed and evolves according to the pedagogical projects of the home institutions, coordinated with the agency ahead of the trip.
Management rules
| Trip to mainland | Trip to overseas departments/territories (DOM-TOM) | Military service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan | 2 weeks (light/condensed touring itinerary) | 5 groups | Primarily in an overseas territory |
| Overseas resident in a multi-territory group | 3 weeks (extended itinerary) | 4 groups, excluding its own group | Mandatorily in each of the other territories of their group of origin, in two separate postings if necessary |
| Overseas resident in a single-territory group (French Guiana, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon) | 3 weeks (extended itinerary) | 4 groups, excluding its own territory | According to the needs of the armed forces, mainland France or territory of origin |
Geographic groupings
| Territories | Duration | Free days | Entry point | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland France | Circuit itinérant national | 2 weeks (mainland residents) / 3 weeks (overseas residents) | 2 / 3 days | Paris CDG |
| Caribbean | Guadeloupe + Martinique + Saint-Martin + Saint-Barthélemy | 3 weeks | 4 days, | Pointe-à-Pitre |
| French Guiana | Guyane seule | 1 week | 0 days | Cayenne |
| Indian Ocean | La Réunion + Mayotte | 2 weeks | 2 days | Saint-Denis |
| Saint-Pierre | Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon seul | 1 week | 0 days | Via Fort-de-France |
| Pacific | Nouvelle-Calédonie + Wallis-et-Futuna + Polynésie | 3 weeks | 4 days | Nouméa |
Overseas students cover 4 clusters + mainland France: their home cluster is excluded and covered by military service.
Trips are organized in ascending order of duration where possible, with Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon systematically constituting the first trip of the schooling. This order may be modified by the agency for logistical reasons.
Air network - closed 100% French network
The agency operates an entirely national transport network, without stopover in a foreign country and without dependency on a foreign private operator. The network rests on two complementary modes: air for long-distance connections, maritime for short inter-island connections, and on three regional hubs that optimize flows without needlessly transiting through Paris.
Indicated costs are agency operational costs per seat, round trip.
Estimated costs per student per route taken (round trip)
Table A - Inter-hub costs (round trip)
| Paris | Fort-de-France | Saint-Denis | Nouméa | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | //////////////////// | //////////////////// | //////////////////// | //////////////////// |
| Fort-de-France | €180 / €700 | //////////////////// | //////////////////// | //////////////////// |
| Saint-Denis | €234 / €750 | €230 / €1,400 | //////////////////// | //////////////////// |
| Nouméa | €454 / €1,600 | €450 / €2,300 | €220 / €2,350 | //////////////////// |
| Cayenne | €190 / €700 | €80 / €500 | €400 / €1,450 | €640 / €2,300 |
Agency price / 2025 average market price
For the FDF / SDN and SDN / Nouméa routes, the indicated market price corresponds to the best available itinerary via connection (Paris or foreign hub), as these direct connections do not currently exist on the commercial market. The agency creates new routes here, which explains the network's largest savings.
Table B - Intra-hub logistics costs (round trip)
| Territories | Mode | Agency | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | Mainland circuit | Bus/train | Included in the trip package | Included in the trip package |
| Fort-de-France | Pointe-à-Pitre | HSC | €30 | €260 |
| Fort-de-France | Saint-Martin | HSC | €24 | €280 |
| Fort-de-France | Saint-Barthélemy | HSC | €24 | €350 |
| Fort-de-France | Saint-Pierre | A320 | €110 | €1,500 |
| Fort-de-France | Cayenne | A320 | €80 | €500 |
| Saint-Denis | Mamoudzou | A330 | €16 | €350 |
| Nouméa | Papeete | A330 | €104 | €600 |
| Nouméa | Wallis | A320 | €120 | €800 |
Agency price / 2025 average market price
The transport for the mainland circuit - buses and national trains - is included in the daily stay cost, in the same way as for the other territories.
Table C - Stay cost per territory
| Market accommodation / night | Market dining / day | Agency accommodation / night | Agency dining / day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland | €28 | €15 | €18 | €12 |
| Martinique | €30 | €17 | €19 | €14 |
| Guadeloupe | €30 | €17 | €19 | €14 |
| Saint-Martin | €30 | €17 | €19 | €14 |
| Saint-Barthélemy | €50 | €25 | €32 | €20 |
| Guyane | €32 | €17 | €21 | €14 |
| Réunion | €30 | €16 | €19 | €13 |
| Mayotte | €32 | €17 | €21 | €14 |
| Saint-Pierre | €35 | €19 | €22 | €15 |
| Calédonie | €50 | €21 | €32 | €17 |
| Polynésie | €50 | €21 | €32 | €17 |
| Wallis | €58 | €20 | €37 | €16 |
Sources: INSEE 2022 (overseas vs mainland price gaps), Likibu/combien-coute.net (accommodation 2025), Numbeo (dining 2025), campingmarina.fr/lbvoyages.fr (Wallis 2025)
The stay cost covers all expenses incurred on site, independent of transport. It comprises five items: accommodation in a dedicated hostel, meals in a collective kitchen, supervision by the agency's permanent guides, local transport by agency-owned buses, and group insurance.
Note - Group insurance
Group insurance covers three risks not covered by State civil liability: trip cancellation, loss or theft of luggage, and on-site medical assistance. State civil liability covers as a matter of right damages caused or suffered by students within the framework of the mandatory programme.
The State positions itself as its own insurer via a dedicated reserve fund, replenished annually to the amount of the premiums that would have been paid to a third-party insurer. This self-insurance mechanism is coherent with the closed-network logic of the programme: the agency fully controls its flows, its vehicles and its accommodations, which structurally reduces risk exposure. In the short term, while the fund is being built up, a transitional framework contract is taken out with an insurer specialized in covering school establishments.
By adding supervision (€7/€10) and local transport (€5/€10):
| Total agency/d | Total market/d | Saving | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland | €25 | €35 | -31% |
| Martinique | €26 | €37 | -30% |
| Guadeloupe | €26 | €37 | -30% |
| Saint-Martin | €26 | €37 | -30% |
| Saint-Barthélemy | €32 | €45 | -29% |
| Guyane | €26 | €37 | -30% |
| Réunion | €25 | €36 | -31% |
| Mayotte | €26 | €37 | -30% |
| Saint-Pierre | €27 | €39 | -31% |
| Calédonie | €29 | €41 | -29% |
| Polynésie | €29 | €41 | -29% |
| Wallis | €28 | €40 | -30% |
Note - Counting of nights
The stay cost is calculated on the basis of J−1 nights of accommodation for a J-day stay: the student arrives on the first day and stays overnight on site, but departs on the last day without an additional night. Meals, supervision and local transport, however, are charged for the entirety of the J days, with the first and last days being full days of activity wherever possible. Group insurance is a flat fee per trip, independent of duration.
Methodological note - 30% structural saving on stay costs
The saving on stay costs reflects four structural advantages of the dedicated agency over the market.
On accommodation, the agency's operational cost is €18/night versus €28/night on average on the French youth hostel market in 2025 (sources: FUAJ data and national comparators, range €20-35/night). The gap is explained by the absence of commercial margin, the elimination of booking and flexibility costs, and the economies of scale of a captive network with predictable occupancy.
On dining, the agency's operational cost is €12/day versus €15/day for collective school catering in mainland France (source: ADEME and local authority data, range €9-15 depending on the establishment). The gap reflects the absence of separate infrastructure depreciation - already accounted for in the initial investment - and the bulk purchasing of food supplies across the entire network.
On supervision, the agency's permanent salaried guides, specialized by territory, are shared across several simultaneous groups, bringing the cost down to €7/student/day versus €10/day for an independent guide.
On local transport, the agency-owned buses eliminate the rental margin. The pure operational cost - fuel, salaried driver, maintenance - stands at €5/student/day versus €10/day for a group rental.
These four gaps produce a stable saving between 29% and 31% depending on the territory. The slight variations reflect local economic specificities - cost of living, imports, isolation - which apply differently to each item. Saint-Pierre and Wallis show the largest savings (-31%) due to particularly high market prices in these territories, which the agency absorbs better thanks to its permanent on-site structures.
These savings on the stay add to the savings on transport, structurally larger (between -60% and -84% depending on the route), to produce the overall saving of the programme.
Table D - Stay cost per trip by student's territory of origin
Mainland student profile (6 trips - shortened Mainland cluster)
| Duration | Transp. agency | Stay agency | Total agency | Transp. market | Stay market | Total market | Saving | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Pierre | 2d / 1n | €290 | €76 | €366 | €2,200 | €113 | €2,313 | -84% |
| French Guiana | 7d / 6n | €190 | €308 | €498 | €800 | €451 | €1,251 | -60% |
| Mainland | 14d / 13n | included | €570 | €570 | included (admitted) | €854 | €854 | -33% |
| Indian Ocean | 14d / 13n | €234 | €618 | €852 | €800 | €915 | €1,715 | -50% |
| Caribbean | 21d / 20n | €180 | €894 | €1,074 | €700 | €1,323 | €2,023 | -47% |
| Pacific | 21d / 20n | €454 | €1,249 | €1,703 | €1,750 | €1,861 | €3,611 | -53% |
| Total | ////////// | €1,348 | €3,715 | €5,063 | €6,250 | €5,517 | €11,767 | -57% |
Caribbean Martinique profile (5 trips - Caribbean cluster excluded)
| Duration | Transp. agency | Stay agency | Total agency | Transp. market | Stay market | Total market | Saving | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Pierre | 2d / 1n | €110 | €76 | €186 | €1,500 | €113 | €1,613 | -88% |
| French Guiana | 7d / 6n | €80 | €308 | €388 | €550 | €451 | €1,001 | -61% |
| Indian Ocean | 14d / 13n | €230 | €618 | €848 | €1,400 | €915 | €2,315 | -63% |
| Mainland | 21d / 20n | €180 | €864 | €1,044 | €700 | €1,295 | €1,995 | -48% |
| Pacific | 21d / 20n | €450 | €1,249 | €1,699 | €3,200 | €1,861 | €5,061 | -66% |
| Total | ////////// | €1,050 | €3,115 | €4,165 | €7,350 | €4,635 | €11,985 | -65% |
The base table corresponds to students from Martinique, whose departure hub Fort-de-France is on their own territory. Students from the other territories of the cluster bear an additional NGV connection cost for each trip:
Guadeloupe: +€30A / +€260M × 5 => total €4,315A / €13,285M (-68%)
Saint-Martin: +€24A / +€280M × 5 => total €4,285A / €13,385M (-68%)
Saint-Barthélemy: +€24A / +€350M × 5 => total €4,285A / €13,735M (-69%)
Guyane profile (5 trips - Guyane cluster excluded)
| Duration | Transp. agency | Stay agency | Total agency | Transp. market | Stay market | Total market | Saving | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Pierre | 2d / 1n | €190 | €76 | €266 | €2,050 | €113 | €2,163 | -88% |
| Indian Ocean | 14d / 13n | €400 | €618 | €1,018 | €1,600 | €915 | €2,515 | -60% |
| Caribbean | 21d / 20n | €80 | €894 | €974 | €550 | €1,323 | €1,873 | -48% |
| Mainland | 21d / 20n | €190 | €864 | €1,054 | €800 | €1,295 | €2,095 | -50% |
| Pacific | 21d / 20n | €640 | €1,249 | €1,889 | €3,500 | €1,861 | €5,361 | -65% |
| Total | ////////// | €1,500 | €3,701 | €5,201 | €8,500 | €5,507 | €14,007 | -63% |
Indian Ocean Réunion profile (5 trips - Indian Ocean cluster excluded)
| Duration | Transp. agency | Stay agency | Total agency | Transp. market | Stay market | Total market | Saving | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Pierre | 2d / 1n | €340 | €76 | €416 | €2,900 | €113 | €3,013 | -86% |
| French Guiana | 7d / 6n | €400 | €308 | €708 | €1,600 | €451 | €2,051 | -65% |
| Caribbean | 21d / 20n | €230 | €894 | €1,124 | €1,400 | €1,323 | €2,723 | -59% |
| Mainland | 21d / 20n | €234 | €864 | €1,098 | €800 | €1,295 | €2,095 | -48% |
| Pacific | 21d / 20n | €220 | €1,249 | €1,469 | €3,200 | €1,861 | €5,061 | -71% |
| Total | ////////// | €1,424 | €3,391 | €4,815 | €9,900 | €5,043 | €14,943 | -68% |
Mayotte: +€16A / +€350M × 5 => total €4,895A / €16,693M (-71%)
Saint-Pierre profile (5 trips - Saint-Pierre cluster excluded)
| Duration | Transp. agency | Stay agency | Total agency | Transp. market | Stay market | Total market | Saving | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| French Guiana | 7d / 6n | €190 | €308 | €498 | €2,050 | €451 | €2,501 | -80% |
| Indian Ocean | 14d / 13n | €340 | €618 | €958 | €2,900 | €915 | €3,815 | -75% |
| Caribbean | 21d / 20n | €110 | €894 | €1,004 | €1,500 | €1,323 | €2,823 | -64% |
| Mainland | 21d / 20n | €290 | €864 | €1,154 | €2,200 | €1,295 | €3,495 | -67% |
| Pacific | 21d / 20n | €560 | €1,249 | €1,809 | €4,700 | €1,861 | €6,561 | -72% |
| Total | ////////// | €1,490 | €3,933 | €5,423 | €13,350 | €5,845 | €19,195 | -72% |
Pacific New Caledonia profile (5 trips - Pacific cluster excluded)
| Duration | Transp. agency | Stay agency | Total agency | Transp. market | Stay market | Total market | Saving | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Pierre | 2d / 1n | €560 | €76 | €636 | €4,700 | €113 | €4,813 | -87% |
| French Guiana | 7d / 6n | €640 | €308 | €948 | €3,500 | €451 | €3,951 | -76% |
| Indian Ocean | 14d / 13n | €220 | €618 | €838 | €3,200 | €915 | €4,115 | -80% |
| Caribbean | 21d / 20n | €450 | €894 | €1,344 | €3,200 | €1,323 | €4,523 | -70% |
| Mainland | 21d / 20n | €454 | €864 | €1,318 | €1,750 | €1,295 | €3,045 | -57% |
| Total | ////////// | €2,324 | €2,760 | €5,084 | €16,350 | €4,097 | €20,447 | -75% |
French Polynesia: +€104A / +€600M intra NOU/PPT × 5 trips => total schooling €5,604A / €23,447M (-76%)
Wallis-et-Futuna: +€120A / +€800M intra NOU/WLS × 5 trips => total schooling €5,684A / €24,447M (-77%)
Annual programme cost by territory
| Cohort | Cost agency/y | Cost market/y | Saving | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland | 720,000 | €3 645 M | €8 472 M | -57% |
| Martinique | 7,150 | €29.8 M | €85.7 M | -65% |
| Guadeloupe | 7,000 | €30.2 M | €93.0 M | -68% |
| Saint-Martin | 600 | €2.6 M | €8.0 M | -68% |
| Saint-Barthélemy | 220 | €0.9 M | €3.0 M | -69% |
| French Guiana | 8,850 | €46.0 M | €124.0 M | -63% |
| La Réunion | 21,300 | €102.6 M | €318.3 M | -68% |
| Mayotte | 11,280 | €55.2 M | €188.3 M | -71% |
| Saint-Pierre | 98 | €0,5 M | €1.9 M | -72% |
| New Caledonia | 4,580 | €23.3 M | €93.6 M | -75% |
| French Polynesia | 6,010 | €33.7 M | €140.9 M | -76% |
| Wallis-et-Futuna | 210 | €1.2 M | €5.1 M | -77% |
| Annual total | 787,298 | €3 971 M | €9 534 M | -58% |
The saving grows with geographical distance: from -57% for mainland France to -77% for Wallis-et-Futuna, where the agency creates connections that do not exist on the market.
Initial investment
The initial investment covers all the assets required to launch the programme: transport fleet, bus fleet, accommodation network, hub infrastructure, IT system and staff training. It is committed during the preparatory phase, prior to the progressive scale-up of the programme.
| Central value | Range | |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft fleet | €2 972 M | ±10% |
| Maritime fleet | €268 M | ±10% |
| Bus fleet | €224 M | ±10% |
| Hub infrastructure | €278 M | ±15% |
| Sovereign IT system | €100 M | ±20% |
| Crews and initial training | €14 M | ±20% |
| Accommodation network | to be refined | market study |
| Total excluding accommodation | ~€3 850 M | ////////// |
| Total estimated with accommodation | ~€4,300M - €4,500M | ////////// |
Aircraft fleet - €2,972M
The fleet comprises 15 Airbus A330s for long-haul connections and 3 Airbus A320s for regional connections, with the addition of 2 reserve aircraft (1 A330 and 1 A320) for scheduled maintenance and unforeseen downtime, in line with commercial aviation standards (a reserve of 10 to 15% of the operational fleet). The unit prices used incorporate a 20% discount on the Airbus list price (€190M per A330, €40.5M per A320), negotiable within the framework of a planned State order: see Airbus note at the end of the annex.
Maritime fleet - €268M
7 French-built high-speed craft (HSC) (CMN/Ocea shipyards): 3 operational HSC in the Caribbean + 1 in reserve, 2 operational HSC in the Indian Ocean + 1 in reserve, in line with maritime operating standards (1 reserve vessel per critical route). The unit price of €38.3M incorporates a 15% discount on the list price of €45M, negotiable on a national bulk order.
Bus fleet - €224M
1,755 school buses ensure local transport in each territory, sized on the basis of 1,350 simultaneous groups (40,500 beds / 30 students per group) with a reserve coefficient of 1.3 for maintenance and rotation. The unit price of €127,500 corresponds to the list price of a new school bus (€150,000) after a 15% State discount.
Hub infrastructure - €278M
The four hubs (Paris CDG, Fort-de-France, Saint-Denis, Nouméa) are existing airports requiring no construction of new passenger terminals. The investment covers three items: maintenance hangars for the fleet (€214M, based on €2,000/m² for a total surface area of 107,000 m²), dedicated reception areas for school groups (€44M) and crew operational bases (€20M). No land cost is included, as airport land is made available by the State.
Sovereign IT system - €100M
The system manages the entirety of the programme's logistics: assigning 787,298 students to their trips across their schooling, transport and accommodation bookings, real-time group tracking, HR management of crews and guides, accounting and reporting. It is developed in six independent modules (€10M to €30M each) in line with the DINUM recommendation not to launch IT projects exceeding €50M. Hosting is sovereign, SecNumCloud certified, with no dependency on a foreign operator.
Crews and initial training - €14M
This item covers the initial training prior to launch: A330-type qualification (€30,000/pilot, source: generationentreprise.org 2025) and A320 (€22,000/pilot) for 108 pilots, air safety training for 396 cabin crew, HSC certifications for 40 sailors, category D licence and minors-supervision training for 1,712 bus drivers, pedagogical training and territory certification for 800 permanent guides, and HACCP hygiene and minors-reception training for 1,500 hostel staff. Recurring mandatory training constitutes an annual operational cost not included here.
Accommodation network - 40,500 beds, cost to be refined
The network comprises 40,500 beds (10% of which reserved for supervisory staff) spread across all territories, sized on the basis of 42 weeks of annual flow excluding summer and end-of-year holidays. The strategy adopted is the acquisition and renovation of the existing stock, preferred over new construction for its speed of deployment, its avoidance of land artificialisation and its lower dependency on imported materials. Renovation works are estimated at €700-850/m² (sources: conseilrenov.fr, manda.fr 2025) for a total surface area of ~590,000 m² (15m²/bed), i.e. €413M to €502M in works. The acquisition cost cannot be estimated without a territory-by-territory real estate market study, the price of a bed in Paris having no relation to that of a bed in Wallis-et-Futuna or in Guyane. This study will constitute a deliverable of the operational preparatory phase. For territories with a very limited existing stock (Wallis-et-Futuna, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon), a share of new construction at a cost of €1,143/m² (source: school building price, travaux.mondevis.com 2025) is unavoidable.
Note - Airbus order and industrial sovereignty
The programme's aircraft fleet relies on Airbus A330 and A320 aircraft. Airbus is a Franco-European manufacturer headquartered in Toulouse, employing more than 55,000 staff in France: this order therefore fits fully within the programme's closed 100% French network logic, rather than contradicting it.
The order is planned for years 3 to 5 of the transition phase, in the form of a direct State order. The volume (18 aircraft) and the guarantee of sovereign payment constitute substantial negotiating leverage on pricing terms: the 20% discount used in the costing is conservative in light of practices observed on grouped State orders.
The main operational risk is that of delivery times. Airbus's order book stood at 8,754 aircraft at the end of 2025, and A330 production rates are not expected to reach 5 aircraft per month until 2029 (source: Usine Nouvelle, October 2025). An order of 15 A330s placed in year 3 represents three months of production at the 2029 rate - which, within a saturated order book, implies realistic lead times of 5 to 8 years. This risk directly conditions the programme's scale-up schedule and must be anticipated from the preparatory phase onward, in particular through priority negotiations with Airbus even before the programme's official launch.
In the event of an exit from the European Union, the bilateral relationship between the French State and Airbus does not depend on the EU framework. Bilateral negotiating levers are developed in the economic annex.