- Tweeter
republish
As every year, hundreds of thousands of students from all over the world are returning to French universities. After the disputed decision of the government to raise tuition fees for non-European students, overview of their reception conditions.
This year, nearly 350,000 international students from outside the EU (ie outside the European Union) will come to sit on the benches of French universities.
For the majority of them, they will not pay more for their registration than their French or European comrades. Defended by the French government, the increase in registration fees for non-European students is in fact observed by only 10% of universities.
► Listen also: 7 billion neighbors take stock of the start of the 2019 fall on this topic
For Ile-de-France alone, more than one hundred thousand foreign students are currently going to university. In search of information, many go to the Welcome Desk , the orientation platform of the Paris region, located at the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris (CIUP).
Administrative guidance needed
The requests made at the CIUP Welcome Desk testify to the great gap between the dream life of studies in Paris and the reality test. These young people are often very good students but most apprehend the skein of French administrative procedures, which make the reputation of France well beyond its borders.
Alex, an 18-year-old Ivorian, is studying mathematics at Paris-Descartes University. He admits to being " a little lost ". After searching on the Internet "foreign student", he explains that he fell directly on the site of the Welcome Desk, reassured to have finally found a place to get answers.
This unique office, located on the ground floor of the International House, has been in existence for 17 years. " And for the first time, it will remain open for two months, " says Marina Burke, director of international mobility support. Here are gathered information points of organizations often unknown to foreign students: CAF (Family Allowance Fund), CPAM (Primary Health Insurance Fund), employment center and those work permits or residence permits. On the "Info Bar", tablets are available to facilitate administrative procedures.
The novelty this year is the validation of the study visa. So far, this approach has given rise to interminable queues in front of the premises of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII). Today, it is no longer in "face" but online. Unfortunately, this progress will not be possible for Alex who has just turned 18 years old. " I'm still considered an underage schooler, " he grieves. Impossible for him to benefit from the validation of the visa on the spot. He will have to go to the sub-prefecture of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Queue assured.
Main difficulties, housing and expensive living
One of the major problems for young foreigners when they arrive in France is housing, particularly in Île-de-France. Not everyone has the chance to get one of the 6,000 resident seats at the Cité internationale. Mariana, a 29-year-old Italian researcher, has just arrived in Paris for a Master 2 in the quantum physics laboratory at the Sorbonne. " I bet on the internet and registered on colocation sites ," she says.
Terrified by dubious ads, she found attentive ears with the employees of the Departmental Agency for Housing Information (Adil) present on site who provide information on his rights. She thus discovered the guarantee Visale (the State vouches for the rent of a student), and will be directed towards the university residences Parisian or more likely campuses outside the capital.
Soukaina, a 22-year-old Moroccan woman, arrives from Rabat. After a first year of Master of Architecture in Morocco, she enjoys an exchange program with the school of Paris-La Villette. Information taken on health insurance and civil liability, she comes to make a late application for housing at the house of Morocco, the largest of the Cité internationale. " Impossible to find a studio near my school, so I came to try my luck here, " she says. And find out more about the personalized housing allowance (APL), which would allow him to reduce his rent.
José, a Chilean student in a master's degree in cinema at the Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3, has two jobs: " Paris is interesting because of its interbreeding and as its architecture testifies, it is a city steeped in history. But she is particularly expensive. He deplores the rise in entrance fees to the university because " we clearly see the idea of imitating an Anglo-Saxon model ". According to him, the wealth of the French University is to welcome, without distinction, students who precisely " do not come from a homogeneous social environment ".
For the economist Alain Trannoy , director of studies at EHESS, this increase in tuition fees for non-EU students is a question of principles . The Ministry of Higher Education justifies this increase by the need for foreign students to participate in free education when they have not contributed by tax.
But, he explains, with regard to the University, the French tradition was that of " universality and above all non-discrimination ". If the University is paying, it must be for everyone; if it is free, it must be for everyone, not just for European students. This is probably one of the reasons why universities have refrained from implementing this aspect of the reform.
The reception of foreign students, an issue of influence
However, the number of international students welcomed is not trivial. It is even a strategic issue that is disputed by the great powers of the world. Alain Trannoy summarizes the equation: " Given the decline of French demography, we will have -10% French students in a fortnight. It is normal for France to seek to be one of the leading countries in attracting students from abroad. "
For the 2018-2019 academic year, 343,386 students of foreign nationality were enrolled in French higher education, an increase of 4.5% over the previous year. The trend continues this year with a rise " of the order of 2% ", according to Prime Minister Philippe .
France is currently fourth in the ranking of countries hosting the most foreign students, behind the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, and just ahead of Germany. By specifically allocating 15 million euros to the conditions for hosting international students, the government is aiming to attract a total of 500,000 international students each year to France by 2027.