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
European Union
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 restriction on the automatic waiver of tuition fees for international students coming from a partner institution. But when a reciprocity agreement exists, exemptions can still apply.
The French government stated that the fees paid by non-EU students will cover 30% of the total cost of their degree, the rest being paid by the state. French minister for higher education Philippe Baptiste said in April that this decree should allow universities to make €250 million more a year, which "should be used to help students in need".
Non-EU students already involved in French universities and exempted from non-EU student fees will be able to keep their exemption until the completion of their degrees.
Institutions and students oppositions
French universities and organisations expressed their opposition to the decree limiting exemptions from non-EU student fees.
“This development calls into question the principle of accessibility in French public higher education and cannot serve as a sustainable solution to the budget crisis facing many universities, which are grappling with chronic underfunding of higher education and research,” Le Mans University said on 11/05.
"France has historically been built on a tradition of openness and hospitality toward international students. This policy is an essential part of its academic identity and intellectual influence. It is fully in line with the public service missions of higher education, which aim to ensure broad access to knowledge, regardless of students’ geographic origin," the institution added.
The Polytech network (an organisation of 16 French engineering schools) said on the same day: "This measure undermines the ability of institutions to pursue a coherent international policy that is tailored to their missions and recruitment areas.”
An inter-union coalition in the higher education and research sector, comprising 15 organisations representing staff and students, stated that this decree “remains deeply profit-driven, unequal and xenophobic, and continues to pave the way for a widespread increase in tuition fees for all students.”
A selection of students "based on wealth"
According to the University Life Council at the University of Lorraine, “this will only serve to exacerbate the severe financial hardship faced by many of these students, particularly those from the most disadvantaged countries, or drive them away from our country”.
In an opinion piece in the French newspaper Le Monde, the president of Clermont Auvergne University said: “This marks a break with the humanistic and universalist vision of the French public university, according to which access to knowledge depends neither on nationality nor on wealth, but on ability, merit and academic goals.”
He said that this measure “amounts to introducing a system of selection based on wealth", which "will inevitably lead to massive displacement". At his university, “70% of the 5,000 international students come from sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb and the Middle East — regions where the standard of living makes these increases prohibitive. Many will give up.”
The higher education and research minister's arguments
During a hearing at the French National Assembly, Baptiste explained that France was currently taking in international students without restrictions, and "30 or 40% of them arrive in extremely precarious circumstances even before they begin their studies. Surprisingly, these students are not succeeding in their studies. Isn’t there a point where we have to admit that this system isn’t working?”
He then stated that a new two-pronged approach was planned to address the situation:
- “French government scholarships to fund the top students”;
- admitting “a large number of other students, but we want to be sure they will be able to support themselves and pay a portion of their tuition. This is neither scandalous nor shameful. It’s the norm everywhere.”
The minister added that the tuition rates would not apply to students who earned their high school diploma at a French high school or who receive scholarships from the French government. EU student fees (which are the same as French student fees) will also remain unchanged.
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