France Closes Doors Further to Foreign Students

Non-European Union students will soon have to pay 2,895 euros annually for a bachelor’s degree, compared to 178 euros today, and 3,941 euros instead of 254 euros for a master’s degree. This strict application of differentiated fees is part of the new attractiveness plan "Choose France For Higher Education. Questioned by the daily newspaper Le Parisien, the Minister of Higher Education, Philippe Baptiste, justifies this return to the fundamental principles of the law in the face of rules that have so far been circumvented by massive exemptions.

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According to the minister, this new pricing corresponds to only 30% of the actual cost of training. It will be introduced gradually without affecting students whose cycle has already begun. The objective is to generate approximately 250 million euros per year for universities within three years. The latter will retain an exemption quota limited to 10%, while 60% of scholarships will now aim to direct these profiles toward strategic fields such as artificial intelligence, digital technology, quantum computing, and biotechnologies.

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These announcements immediately triggered the anger of representative organizations, ready to mobilize. Suzanne Nijdam, president of Fage, denounces a "dangerous" decision targeting a population plunged into "extreme precarity." Unef, through its general secretary Manon Moret, fears that the end of exemptions will condemn thousands of young people "to misery" and promises a showdown. The Student Union goes even further by openly denouncing "a racist attack by the government".