By forcing universities to drastically increase tuition fees for non-EU international students, the French government is jeopardising the long-term future of many sectors of French research. Development economics is among the disciplines most directly threatened.
Let us briefly recall the facts. In 2019, under the impetus of Minister Frédérique Vidal, the government launched the “Bienvenue en France” plan aimed at international students. Its stated ambition was clear: to increase by more than 50% the number of international students hosted in France by 2027, in particular by facilitating visa procedures and improving reception conditions in higher education institutions. In return, the government introduced differentiated tuition fees for non-EU students, set for the 2026–2027 academic year at €2,895 for bachelor’s degrees and €3,941 for master’s degrees. By comparison, French students and nationals of European Union member states will pay only €178 for bachelor’s degrees and €254 for master’s degrees. Initially considered, the extension of these differentiated fees to doctoral studies was ultimately abandoned in the face of strong mobilisation from the academic community.
In practice, these increased fees have rarely been applied, as most universities have chosen to make use of the exemption possibilities provided for by the regulations. However, the continued deterioration of universities’ financial situation is now leading some institutions to apply these fees to all non-EU students. It is in this context that Philippe Baptiste, Minister of Higher Education and Research, announced at the end of April a gradual limitation of the exemptions granted by universities. The draft decree presented to the CNESER on 12 May thus provides for capping the share of exempted non-EU students at 30% in 2026, 25% in 2027, and then 20% from 2028 onwards. Yet French universities currently host around 140,000 non-EU students enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s programmes.
The criticisms levelled at this reform are numerous and legitimate. Many see it as a prelude to a general increase in tuition fees for all students, regardless of nationality. Others are rightly concerned about the worsening material difficulties faced by an already highly precarious student population. Many also regret the questioning of a university model founded on principles of universality, openness and hospitality. Finally, from an economic standpoint, it is at the very least paradoxical to claim to strengthen demand for French higher education by increasing its price, without giving universities the means to genuinely improve the reception and training conditions of the students concerned. In Finland and Germany, increases in tuition fees for international students have led to a decline in international student enrolments, particularly among students from Africa and Asia (Vortisch 2024; Mathies, Karhunen & DesJardins 2025).
AFEDEV fully shares these concerns. However, it wishes to alert public decision-makers and the wider public more specifically to the particularly serious consequences that this reform would have for French research in development economics. More than half of the doctoral students in our discipline come from low- and middle-income countries. Their contribution is essential. Through their academic skills, their first-hand knowledge of development realities and the diversity of perspectives they bring, they make a decisive contribution to the quality and international influence of French research. Their professional trajectories after the doctorate also testify to the excellence of these paths. Many go on to hold important positions in international, regional or national institutions, thereby contributing to France’s scientific presence and influence far beyond what France could achieve on its own.
Admittedly, doctoral students remain, for the time being, excluded from the differentiated fee system. But doctoral recruitment is not built independently of the training that precedes it. It relies above all on a pool of students that will inevitably shrink as financial barriers exclude the least privileged candidates. In many countries, the most talented students will simply no longer be able to consider pursuing their studies in France. In the long run, some master’s programmes will be weakened, or even forced to close due to insufficient enrolment, thereby reducing the diversity of specialisations offered in economics. The consequence is predictable: a gradual weakening of the pool of doctoral candidates and, ultimately, of the quality of French research in development economics.
Yet research in this field is not a luxury for France. Beyond the specific needs of developing countries, it offers original insights into the problems faced by Western societies. It also contributes to the evolution of France’s and European institutions’ partnership policies towards the Global South.
The negative dynamic we describe is, moreover, not limited to the social sciences. Many disciplinary fields will be affected. At a time when French public research is already suffering from chronic underfunding, a proliferation of administrative tasks and a scarcity of permanent positions, reducing access for non-EU students to French higher education would deprive our country of a major scientific, intellectual and human resource.
AFEDEV therefore calls on the government to abandon this draft decree and to launch an ambitious reflection on the real conditions needed to strengthen the international attractiveness of French higher education: sustainable funding for universities, high-quality support and reception for international students, and the preservation of an academic model open to the world.
The AFEDEV Steering Committee
References
Mathies, C., Karhunen, H., & DesJardins, S. L. (2025). If you charge them, will they come? The effect of levying tuition fees on international students. Research in Higher Education, 66(6), 34.
Vortisch, A. B. (2024). The land of the fee: The effect of Baden-Württemberg’s tuition fees on international student outcomes. Education Economics, 32(2), 141–166.