Moroccan Graduate Student Faces Deportation Hearing in Montpellier, Sparks Campus Protest

The Syndicat de Combat Universitaire (SCUM) of Montpellier is behind the support rally, reports Actu.fr. It is fighting to obtain from the administrative court the right for Jalal to complete his Master 2 NPI (International Project Negotiation) at the University of Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3. Threatened with expulsion, the young Moroccan student will appear before the court this Tuesday. Jalal is "a brilliant student. [...] His fault? He reoriented himself pedagogically a few years ago, and therefore finds himself without a student visa and threatened with expulsion to Morocco," says SCUM.

"His flawless university career within Paul-Valéry has even encouraged the university presidency to provide him with a laudatory certificate to help him in his procedures with the Prefecture," it adds. According to the union’s explanations, Jalal was in an irregular situation because the Prefecture has been refusing him a student visa since 2017, following a repeat year when he was a student at another university, the Faculty of Science in Montpellier, before arriving at the University of Paul-Valéry. "Since then, he has reoriented himself, integrated into the associative and student life of the university, and is currently preparing his Master 2 diploma," continues SCUM.

According to the union, the Moroccan student is penalized because he reoriented during his studies. "It is unacceptable that a reorientation, however successful, should lead to the expulsion of a foreign student," it fumes.