Update to this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Study_In_France/comments/1szcshm/psa_the_french_government_is_trying_to_force/

Welp, people, this is fucked up.

Despite massive opposition from the academic community, despite getting humiliated at the consultative body of higher education CNESER (with 62 votes against the decree, 2 in favour, 3 abstentions, and 28 absents probably boycotting), the minister pushed up with his xenophobic plan.

He made a minuscule concession (to falsely claim he listened to concerns) and allowed universities to exonerate 30% of their students for this year (instead of 10%), 25% next year and 20% after that. This is ridiculous, and no one buys it.

This isn't the end! There will be legal challenges of this decree before the courts. Calls to strike/march have already started (though, do also keep in mind that we're in the end of the academic year, so that certainly doesn't help). And universities are bound to resist. I will try to keep you all updated on all that in this new post. Let's hope this stupid decision gets removed.

Things to note:

• If you already got the exoneration confirmation, you're safe
• If you have been living for 2-years in France, you shouldn't be concerned.
• If you are currently in the midst of a cursus, you won't be concerned if it is only for continuing your program.
• If you are doing an exchange program, you are not concerned
• If you are doing a PhD, you are not concerned either
• If you hold an EU citizenship, you are not concerned either
• If you hold another citizenship, but are studying in a european institution, you are unfortunately concerned.
• If you get the exoneration, it will run for the whole program (3 years for a bachelor, 2 for a master's) (except if your uni has different dispositions), and so you'd realistically be able to continue your studies afterward since you would no longer be concerned since you'd be living in France for 2 years at this point.

Here is the published decree : https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000054113646

Hello students looking or currently studying in France!

As the title states, unfortunately there might be some bad news coming soon. But don't worry! It might not be as catastrophic as it seems, but you definitely should be aware of the current plans of our idiotic French government!

So, let's first explain how French tuition fees work.

« Bienvenue en France ! And here's some debt. »

In ye ol' days, before Macron, French higher education tuition fees were simple, as simple as it could get. It was a single price, around 150€ for a Licence, 250€ for a Master, 350€ for a Doctorat. That price, was the same for everyone, French, Foreigner, no distinction! In fact, it originated from a long tradition of french academic universalism. Everyone was the same in french universities, no matter their country of origin.

But then, came Macron. His ambition? Making french universities on the same level as American or British ones. Good international standing? Yes! Financial "autonomy"? Yeees! Internal competition between universities? Oh my god yes!!! Finally increasing their budget after 10 years of austerity, stopping the incessant march towards stripping academic freedoms and reverting the reforms that are making French Academia sick? Naaaah, we're not communists here. Increasing tuition fees? OH MY GOD YEEEES PLEASE!

Y'all understood, the plans of Macron for universities were big, and academia didn't want any of it, but I mean, who are they to even give their opinion? But, when Macron once did as little as just suggesting maybe increasing tuition fees, the french did what they knew best: protesting. And the measure was so universally hated, that they immediately backtracked on it.

But, if we can't increase tuition fees for french students, well, there's another population we can prey on : international students. I mean, who would protest for them right? And so the government marched on with its aptly named « Bienvenue en France » law, such a good, orwellian, name!

To say the least, french academia didn't like the plan. French university professors and students, and their respective unions, protested, and were adamant on protecting student rights, even if they aren't french. Even the conference of french university presidents, despite usually being on the side of the government, strongly and vehemently opposed the proposed tuition fees increase for international students.

The final nail in the coffin? The Constitutional Courts openly raised criticism of the law and doubted its constitutionality. The proposed tuition fee increase was doomed, it was scrapped from the law.

Or... was it? Our law makers aren't fools, they are more akin machiavellian geniuses when it comes to taking money from the most vulnerable. Instead of scrapping the proposal, they did increase fees, BUT, allowed universities to exonerate their international students of the added fees, either entirely or partially (to match what french students pay).

These fees are now of 2 895€ for a Licence (vs 178€ for french students) and 3 941€ for a Master (vs 254€). (Doctorates remain 397€ for everyone, if you're in PhD, you aren't concerned by this post at all.) Their claim was that this fee was based on what a 1/3rd of a year in Licence or Master would cost for the state. But that claim isn't rooted in reality, and an inquiry by an independent institution under the Prime Minister concluded that this actually is more than what a year in these diplomas would cost the state.

The goal with this manœuvre? Give universities a false choice. So if they decide to increase tuition fees for international students, it wouldn't be the decision of the government, but the sovereign decision of an independent institution which just happened to have been asphyxiated by spending cuts and austerity and is on the verge of bankruptcy (as are now ~60% of all public universities).

« Choose France for Higher Education ! (But actually don't if you're poor.) »

But... Surprisingly, honestly... Universities resisted. Despite 7 years having passed by since the law went into effect, and despite funding for universities crashing down under massive spending cuts... Today, it is estimated that only a 1/3rd of public universities apply for even a fraction of their students those new fees, with most exonerating automatically all students coming from the poorest countries. And it is estimated that only 10% of foreign students in France pay those fees in full or in part.

This was due through a massive resistance of elected students, professors, unions, and administrations which preferred to cut costs in other fields, before preying on international students, despite the choice being available for them at any time.

The government on the other hand was not amused. Their perfect plan? Reduced to nothingness. Universities still refused to comply. So, they went back to scheming.

Their first way in: establishing an "independent" inquiry into the "structural under-financing of universities", which was laughed off by everyone. The goal? Finding why are universities so cash-strapped! And despite the ministry choosing two allies to head that inquiry... The inquiry confirmed what everyone knew: the reason for the under-financing of universities is the austerity forced on french universities which has been going for 17 years now, and not low tuition fees as was hoped by the government.

So, the government not getting the answer they would've liked, went back to scheming. And they found a new solution! Finally forcing universities to increase tuition fees for foreign students! Which would bring... a measly 250million€ (barely a dent in the combined budget of universities).

But, you might ask, with all the opposition they got the first time, wouldn't they just fail again? Well, as I said, our politicians are truly machiavellian: their new strategy, SPEED. Going so fast that opposition doesn't even have time to form!

The initiative, called « Choose France for Higher Education », yet another orwellian name, was announced... last week. They summoned the consultative council for higher education in urgency for the 5th of may. And they consulted the presidents of french universities today (the 29th). And, most importantly, they don't plan to introduce a new law, that would be too slow... No, they plan on doing it by decree, which is basically our equivalent of "executive orders". And leaks inside the ministry we got today by an angry member of the minister's cabinet alerted the wider community that the decree is supposed to be signed... today or tomorrow, holy shit, even before the council gets to give its opinion. Everyone was taken by surprise. This is simply insane.

We actually don't know yet if that decree was signed or not, and we will only know by further leaks or when the next official bulletin of the ministry is released.

What does that decree states? Well, instead of the current situation where only 10% of students are not fully exonerated, the decree states that universities could only exonerate a maximum of 10% of their students, European and Extra-european (both counted separately), and that includes exchange students (which are automatically exonerated as part of exchange deals). This means that the share of foreign students that need to pay 3000/4000€ tuition fees will jump from 10%, to 90%!

BUT, don't panic, if you already got admitted by a university before the decree was signed, the decree won't apply to you, and your university may exonerate you (following their exoneration policy), at least for the next academic year.

And, even if you didn't get admitted yet, there's still room before panicking. As this was announced, mobilisation by unions immediately went back up, the conference of french presidents already denounced the measure, and there will surely be legal challenges before the courts. And, with some luck, this might cause enough of a stir that this will pressure opposition parties to oppose the measure, and, if you are not aware of current french politics, the french government is on such a thin line, that a single opposition party expressing its disagreement is enough to shake and possibly topple the government.

I will try to keep you aware of further news concerning how this unfolds!