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A student in a class room at Pantheon-Sorbonne University (illustration image). STEPHANE OF SAKUTIN / AFP

In France, the Constitutional Council endorsed the principle of free university while not preventing " low registration fees ". This decision runs counter to that of the French government, which wanted to increase significantly the registration fees of these young people.

This is a victory for the student organizations that seized the State Council in July. They challenged the soaring registration fees for non-European foreigners, for example, by giving a license ranging from 180 to 2,270 euros. The institution then decided to freeze this decision until the Constitutional Council decided the matter.

It is done this Friday, October 11th. The highest court in the country believes that free education, as enshrined in the Constitution, should apply to public higher education and therefore to universities.

The government's announcement a year ago also caused incomprehension from many university departments. As a result, in this 2019 school year, only 7 out of 75 campuses applied the increase in registration fees.

Low fees ...

These rights increases were supposed to help develop the attractiveness of French universities to cope with American or British competition.

In its decision, the Constitutional Council " uniquely deduces " that " the constitutional requirement of free admission applies to public higher education ". However, " this requirement does not preclude, for this level of education, that low tuition fees are levied taking into account, where appropriate, the financial capacity of students ". It remains to be seen what the term " modest " means.

" These fees are about a third of the actual price of training, it is considered that this is a low cost ," said the Ministry of Higher Education. The student union Unef, opposed to rising registration fees for foreign students, welcomes his side. It is now up to the Council of State to continue the discussions in the coming months. " We rely on the wisdom of the State Council in the decision it will make, " said one in the entourage of Minister Frédérique Vidal.

In France, one out of two non-European students is African, and the majority of them can not afford to pay nearly 3,000 euros to enroll in a faculty.