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The increase in registration fees at French universities will gradually come into force starting next academic year. Backed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space, Decree No. 2026-385 has now been published in the Official Journal. Under the new rules, most non-European Union (EU) foreign students will be required to pay significantly higher tuition fees, while universities will only be allowed to exempt «up to 20% of their non-EU students».
The measure will be introduced progressively. For the next academic year, the exemption ceiling is set at 30%. It will then drop to 25% in 2027 before eventually falling to a maximum of 20%. As part of the «Choose France for Higher Education» plan led by Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste, the government aims to enforce more strictly the differentiated tuition fees introduced in 2019, which until now have only been partially applied.
In concrete terms, undergraduate students will have to pay €2,895 per year instead of the current €178. At master’s level, annual fees will rise from €254 to €3,941. Students who benefited from a tuition fee exemption during the 2025–2026 academic year will retain it «until the end of their university cycle», provided they continue «the corresponding courses at the institution that granted them the exemption», according to the decree. Those who were already exempted for 2026–2027 before the text came into force will also «retain the benefit under the same conditions».
A ceiling applied only to eligible students
The decree, which defines the conditions under which foreign students enrolled in public higher education institutions under the authority of the higher education ministry may obtain fee exemptions, narrows the scope for exemptions by amending Book VII of the Education Code, particularly Article R. 719-50.
It now states: «I. The president of the institution may also exempt from payment of registration fees students who apply for such an exemption on the basis of their personal circumstances, particularly with regard to their financial resources, and who fall into one of the following categories:
1- Nationals of a member state of the European Union, another state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation;
2- Holders of a residence permit bearing the wording “Residence card for a family member of a Union/EEA/Swiss citizen”;
3- Holders of one of the resident cards provided for in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article L. 411-1 of the Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right of Asylum, or holders of an equivalent document issued under an international agreement applicable to the French Republic, as well as minors under the age of 18 who are direct descendants or dependents of the holder of one of these cards.»
In its second section, the decree also authorizes university presidents to «exempt from payment of registration fees students who do not fall into one of the categories mentioned in I, who request such an exemption on the basis of their personal circumstances, particularly with regard to their financial resources».
These exemptions may be partial or total, but they «may not benefit more than 20% of the students falling respectively under I and II who are enrolled at the institution, excluding the persons mentioned in Articles R. 719-49 and R. 719-49-1».
The decree therefore significantly reduces universities’ room for maneuver, especially since the 20% ceiling applies only to students who already meet the stated criteria, rather than to all foreign students. As a result, opportunities for young non-EU students are expected to shrink considerably, particularly for applicants from African countries, including Morocco.
A further tightening after the removal of housing benefits
The decision is already proving controversial, especially as the 2026 finance law has also abolished personal housing assistance (APL) for non-EU foreign students who do not receive scholarships, a benefit worth between €150 and €250 per month. Approved by the Constitutional Council, the measure will take effect on July 1, 2026.
Meanwhile, the decree limiting exemptions continues to face opposition from unions, which have denounced it as an «unfair and incoherent» decision. The text was at the center of a demonstration that drew hundreds of protesters on May 12, while a new rally has been called for May 26.
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron has openly backed the government’s approach. Speaking from Nairobi in an interview on May 12, he said studying in France could not be «free for the whole world» and that French taxpayers should not have to «pay for the studies of every student in the world, wherever they come from».
