Have you just joined your school and have had difficult times with your accommodation, CAF or your home insurance? Rest assured, you are not alone! Two students from Centrale Lyon, Arthur Presse and Joseph Reinhart, looked into the question and decided to publish RÅLBØL, a survival kit created for students and by students. Joseph answered our questions and presented us with his guide which will help you deal with the French administrative imbroglio!
What is your background?
Arthur is from Nantes and did his prep at Clemenceau. For my part, I was in preparation for Stanislas. We both integrated Central Lyon and we are currently at the end of the second year. At the start of the school year, Arthur will begin his gap year with an internship at Wavestone. For my part, I am going to Imperial College Business School to complete a double degree in Economics & Strategy.
Together you created RÅLBØL. Can you tell us more?
This is the student survival kit in which we bring together 45 chapters that represent the 45 most problematic topics encountered by students. We answer the questions they ask about administrative problems, insurance, CAF, mutual insurance, etc. We have also included more interesting chapters with testimonials from students who indicate the jobs you can do alongside your studies, provide advice on writing your CV, share their ideas for community involvement, recipes for cooking or even tips on how to tie a tie. The objective is to provide a real answer to the problems encountered by students, while slipping fun elements into the middle of the chapters.
How did it all start?
The idea came to us in December 2019. We were at the Michel Serre library, located just oppositeemlyon. It was lunch break and Arthur was looking to get an appointment to quickly redo his passport. He realized that it was difficult to find available slots at town hall. However, he realized that by driving 10 minutes and going to a small village nearby, he could get an appointment the next day. So he shared his tip and we noticed that we were not alone in encountering these problems. Several hundred students are lost, panicked and don’t understand what to do. For the record, I didn’t know that you needed a gas contract to have hot water in my apartment. I found myself without hot water for a week. So we started to collect several tips on various topics related to daily life.
How did you build RÅLBØL?
So we had the idea of making a collection of administrative tips and we asked those close to us to find out what they thought about it. For the writing of RÅLBØL, we have brought together advice collected from our friends and based on our experience. For certain subjects, we sought the advice of professionals. For example, we interviewed a tax lawyer for the chapter on taxes and a gynecologist for the chapter on contraception.
Most of the work was done during confinement. We took the opportunity to rewrite our book, reread it and have it reread. We also asked three design students at the Estienne school to create the illustrations for the book. This helps to breathe life into the book.
Where are you in the development of RÅLBØL ?
It is available until September 11 on the platform crowdfunding Ululeat the price of 17€, shipping costs included. We are currently at over 650 pre-orders. There is real excitement around this book. We receive lots of comments from students who are happy to be helped with their problems. After September 11, we will have our own platform allowing you to order your copy of RÅLBØL. Printing has started and we should receive the first copies on September 2. We also want to distribute it more widely, in a classic publishing format, in bookstores, from 2021.
What future do you imagine for RÅLBØL ?
If we exceed 1000 pre-orders, we will launch the Ralboleurs community. Indeed, in our book, we deal with generic questions, but not issues specific to each person. With this community, we want to instill mutual aid between people. They will be able to support other Ralboleurs based on their experience.
What future for Arthur and you?
We both want to think outside the box and have entrepreneurial desires. For my part, in 2-3 years, I imagine myself with a company or perhaps in a consulting firm. It’s good training.
