French government to limit exemptions from fees for non-EU university students

The French government has published a decree to progressively limit exemptions from fees for non-EU students. The share of non-EU students that each university can exempt will be reduced from 30% in 2027, to 25% in 2028, and 20% from 2029 onwards.

Public higher education institutions in France have had different tuition fees for EU students (€178 for a bachelor's, €254 for a master's in 2026) and non-EU students (€2,895 for a bachelor's, €3,941 for a master's) since 2019.

But universities have used various mechanisms to exempt non-EU students to avoid paying the higher tuition fees, leading to only 10% of non-EU students paying the full non-EU rate, according to the education ministry.

The government initially wanted to limit these exemptions to 10% of non-EU students starting in 2027, but it was rejected by the National Council on Higher Education and Research, leading to the amended decree imposing a progressive decrease instead. The decree was officially published on 20/05/2026.

The exemptions will be based on students' financial situations. The decree also provides for a…