Destination France: repositioning French higher education in a globalized world

France has always been a top destination for international students worldwide, owing mainly to its strong ties with Africa. France’s goal to host half a million foreign students by 2027 is part of an arsenal of measures geared toward extending its soft power to other regions of the world, and the French higher education sector has been given a clear mandate to increase its efforts in attracting international students. Through a combination of structural system-level policies, targeted investments, scholarships, tuition fee policies, immigration policies, and language policies, France hopes to continue to challenge leading English-speaking study destinations and to enhance the appeal of its higher education system, its role in educating global leaders, and the promotion of its values abroad, in light of increasing competition from identified neighbors, powerful poles of attraction, and new players. Yet, French internationalization policies reveal some contradictions—mostly regarding tuition fees, language, and immigration policies—that could impair the fulfilment of these objectives and might even jeopardize established ties.