Plan to raise international student fees meets resistance

Science campaign groups and students have spoken out against the French government’s plan to greatly increase fees for non-EU students.

The campaign group Qualité de la Science Française and the CJC young researchers’ federation both published statements denouncing the plan unveiled by prime minister Édouard Philippe on 19 November.

In its statement, published on 3 December, Qualité de la Science Française said that increasing student fees for overseas students “goes against common sense”. In particular, the group questioned how the government could reach its target of having 500,000 foreign students in France by 2027, against 324,000 at present, while simultaneously increasing fees by up to 17-fold.