Financial literacy is being introduced in middle school: but who teaches adults?
At the start of the 2026 school year, the Educfi passport will be rolled out to all 8th-grade classes. This step forward is welcomed, but it also serves as a mirror: if we consider it useful to teach teenagers how to manage a budget, it’s because millions of adults have never received this kind of guidance. In the field, counselors see this every day.
This is a first in the history of the French school system. Starting in September 2026, all 4ᵉ students will follow a structured financial and budgeting education program through the Educfi Passport, which has been rolled out on a pilot basis since 2019. Reading a bank statement, distinguishing between a need and a want, understanding what a loan or savings account is: these are all concepts that will officially be included in the curriculum, ahead of a pilot program scheduled to begin in high schools starting in 2027. The program, led by the Banque de France as part of the national Educfi strategy, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. In practice, the passport is organized around training modules and tests, which can be taken at any time during the school year, though Financial Literacy Week—held every March—provides an ideal setting. In addition, the Banque de France makes resources available to the general public through its dedicated portal, a sign that the initiative is aimed not only at middle school students but at all French citizens.
Behind this generalization lies a broader—and more troubling—observation. If the government deems it necessary to equip future citizens starting in middle school, it is because many adults themselves are still winging it. Several studies document this: a 2025 study conducted by the French Association of Financial Management and the consulting firm Elabe highlighted the French public’s shortcomings in managing their money and their lack of guidance when faced with increasingly complex financial products and institutions. The younger generation will be educated; their parents, however, rarely had that opportunity.
A generation that’s been educated, while their elders are left to fend for themselves
The paradox is all the more striking because the stakes are very real. Excessive debt, poorly managed revolving credit, dubious financial influencers, investment scams: the pitfalls have multiplied, and young adults are particularly vulnerable to them. Introducing financial literacy early on means providing critical tools before bad decisions are made. But for those already in the workforce, the question remains: who can you turn to when you’ve never learned how to balance emergency savings, retirement planning, and building wealth?
In the field, financial advisors observe that the most common questions almost never concern sophisticated products. They revolve around fundamentals that are disarmingly simple: How much should you actually save each month? At what age should you start planning for retirement? How can you make your savings grow without taking excessive risks? What are the most common mistakes? It is these basic questions—not complex financial structures—that form the core of these meetings, as noted by Davy Preghenella, associate director at Uptimi.
The Basics Before Products
The most common mistake has to do precisely with the order of priorities. Many savers look for the “right investment” before laying the foundation: a disciplined budget, a contingency fund, and a clearly defined time horizon. But without this foundation, even the best-performing product is unsuitable. The second classic mistake is putting off retirement planning, even though time is precisely the factor that makes the biggest difference: starting early—even with small amounts—makes a greater impact than contributing much too late. Added to this is a tendency to confuse available savings with invested savings, or to overestimate one’s own risk tolerance as long as the markets are rising. These are all habits that no product can correct on the saver’s behalf.
That is the whole point of introducing Educfi in schools: to ensure that these habits become second nature rather than late and costly discoveries. Still, this measure alone will not make up for the ground lost by generations who are no longer in middle school. For them, financial education will not come from the public school system, but from a personal effort—and often from an advisor capable of prioritizing the fundamentals over specific products. This reality also opens up opportunities for financial advisors, from brokers to fintech companies, provided they are willing to start with the basics rather than with sales. The start of the 2026 school year serves as a reminder: when it comes to money, what we didn’t learn when we were young, we’ll have to learn eventually.
