In the face of the government’s indifference and inertia, some French academics are organising from the ground up to come up with ideas and strategies that might guarantee the future of universities, especially when it comes to crucial scientific research.
The situation is serious. French universities are at breaking point or, as they say in French, “à l’os” — stripped to the bone. By the close of 2026 the accumulated deficit of all 75 French state universities is expected to reach 300 million euros. Researchers are especially concerned that budget cuts put science at risk.
This crisis isn’t new but the result of years of steadily increasing pressure stretching over the course of the last two decades. During that time the French government has followed a consistent policy: to impose manifold extra costs on universities — from time-consuming regulations and growing bureaucratic tasks to pay-point rises (which are set nationally but must be absorbed by the individual institutions) — without providing the funding needed to implement them.
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French university presidents have been complaining about these “measures without compensation”. Not only does the constant introduction of unexpected new costs make it very difficult for universities to plan their budgets prudently by projecting five or ten years ahead. They are also struggling to meet new costs and continue to find the money needed to modernise faculty buildings and lecture halls and invest in new scientific equipment. Reserves are running very low, and the signs of strain and dilapidation are there for all students to see. In order to save money, universities are being driven to limit student numbers, cut teaching positions and reduce active research time.
This state of affairs is in part an unexpected consequence of the 2007 passing of a law which in theory aimed at granting universities greater autonomy from top-down decisions of the French state. Supported by then Minister for Higher Education Valérie Pécresse, the LRU (Loi relative aux libertés et responsabilités des universités) handed the governing boards of universities control of their overall strategy, the direction of research and development projects and the handling of human resources. The law purported to enable universities to “affirm their scientific excellence”.
Yet in the wake of the change French university presidents have complained of experiencing the opposite: crippling micromanagement creep, as the French state insinuates itself in the day-to-day running of faculties in the form of byzantine administrative tasks. These are no longer being carried out by administrative staff — a wave of reforms decentralised responsibilities without replacing departing personnel. This has meant that professors are now forced to take on that load, helped or more often hindered by complex and only nominally “time-saving” management software. This eats considerably into teaching and research time. Meanwhile, the number of university students in France has risen by more than 200,000 over the past 10 years. The situation is felt to be untenable and higher-education institutions declare themselves unable to fulfil their missions properly.
It had also been a goal of the 2007 law to enable French academia more effectively to compete on the international stage. But according to the Observatory of Science and Technology at the High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education, France dropped from 6th to 13th place in global scientific publication output between 2010 and 2022. Thanks to their excellent reputation and track record, French universities have historically been attractive destinations for foreign doctoral students and researchers, especially in STEM subjects, but if this changes dramatically France will lose out to other nations. This will also have an impact on the broader French economy.
Across the Channel the situation in British universities isn’t much better. Many universities are facing insolvency and most are experiencing structural decline and the consequences of a massification of higher education combined with stagnant financing from government. But in terms of finding a way forward, one important difference with France is that British universities operate in a manner closer to market capitalism: they are financed by a combination of domestic tuition fees and international student recruitment. French universities on the other hand are predominantly public and state-funded, and the idea of charging high tuition fees is alien to the French mindset. French academics working in the state sector are employed by the state: they are civil servants.
Reforms are being proposed without, it seems, much thought being given either to the time needed for successful implementation or for prudent budgeting
And indeed many French academics lay responsibility for the current crisis at the door of the French state and its chronic want of realism. Reforms are being proposed without, it seems, much thought being given either to the time needed for successful implementation or for prudent budgeting. The deans of French faculties of medicine have warned that a major overhaul of healthcare and medical studies (which will among other things mean that rankings will rely on overall academic performance across the curriculum rather than a single final exam) scheduled for the 2027 academic year has not been thought through. It is not clear how the stated educational goals are to be achieved, nor where the extra funding required is to be found. The financial burden risks, once again, being passed on to universities.
So, what are the ideas and strategies proposed by the campaigning STEM academics? They stand for the defence of freedom for academic research and for greater independence from the French state. They also support a more international outlook, where in the context of “scientific diplomacy” new research and knowledge must become tools of foreign policy. Currently, although many universities in France have been keen to invest in European scientific research programmes supported by the Brussels administration, the French state has been reluctant to throw its weight behind such initiatives either politically or financially. The point of view of the academic campaigners is that French universities stand on the edge of the abyss and that, in the words of Anne Fraïsse, president of Paul Valéry University in Montpellier, the government’s approach to funding universities must be reversed “if we are to avoid the collapse of higher education in France”.
The government’s response to these concerns has not been encouraging. In a recent comment, the Minister for Higher Education, Philippe Baptiste, mockingly declared: “It’s not like we’re in a Zola novel,” suggesting that slight inconvenience experienced in academia hardly compares to the harsh and hopeless plight of the working classes explored by the 19th-century novelist. Yet the movement is hoping to gain traction by putting together a white paper that will draw all political parties’ attention to the crisis, especially in the run-up to the April 2027 French presidential elections.
The outcome of the elections will naturally have an impact on the future of education. The question is whether any party is sufficiently committed to the issue to take decisive action, given competition from other pressing issues such as immigration, security and the cost of living. Technocratic centrist parties talk approvingly of innovation, but they do not appear to understand the practical connection between fundamental science and technological progress. The French Left meanwhile appears too fragmented to have a clear stance on the future of universities. The campaigning academics are particularly wary of Marine Le Pen’s party, the Rassemblement National (National Rally): under an RN President, might French academia face the same funding cuts and dismantling of research programmes (especially in areas such as climate change and health research) as happened under the Trump administration?
At the time of writing the focus has moved to a more public expression of the crisis in French education, with students rioting all over France, in what began as a protest against lack of proper funding for schools and universities in poorer areas with a high proportion of migrant families, and has escalated into violent riots that appear directed against France and its institutions. In the current climate of disorder, thoughtful consultation may no longer be deemed a sufficient response.