In France, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space has unveiled a new decree on university tuition fees, confirming that non-European Union students will be the hardest hit starting next academic year. The measure further tightens the government’s policy on foreign students, despite concerns that it could sharply restrict access to higher education.
French President Emmanuel Macron has defended the planned increase in tuition fees for non-European Union students, particularly those from Africa, at French public universities. Speaking in an interview marking the close of the Africa Forward Summit on May 12 in Nairobi, he argued that French taxpayers should not have to «pay for the education of all the students in the world, wherever they come from».
This Friday, parents of students attending primary schools under the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) in the Rabat-Kenitra region decided not to send their children to school. This action is a protest against what they describe as an «unjustified increase in tuition fees».
In the wake of budget decisions affecting the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) since December 2025, parents of students in Morocco have voiced concern over the transfer of personnel costs to schools, a move that has led to unprecedented increases in tuition fees. Families could be required to pay up to an additional 10,000 dirhams per year.