French Senate inquiry recommends ending open university admissions and quintupling tuition fees

End of automatic university admission

A French Senate commission of inquiry on academic excellence published a report on 9 September 2026 recommending an end to the automatic right of high school graduates to enter public universities. Under the current legal framework, the baccalaureate serves as the first degree of higher education, granting holders a theoretical entitlement to a university place. The commission proposed reclassifying the baccalaureate as a basic eligibility condition rather than a guaranteed entitlement, citing lower standards in the examination. The reform package urges universities to set enrolment caps independently and reject applicants who do not meet required academic prerequisites. Les Républicains senator Laurence Garnier, who served as rapporteur for the inquiry launched by her parliamentary group in March 2026, presented the findings alongside fellow contributors including senator Max Brisson.

Proposed tuition fee increases

The report outlines 10 recommendations to overhaul university financing and structure, led by a sharp rise in student registration fees. The commission proposed raising annual tuition fees to 900 euros for undergraduate licence programmes and 1,300 euros for master programmes. Current registration charges in French public higher education range between 178 euros and 254 euros per year. The rapporteurs stated that the new rates would represent less than 10% of average training costs while reversing what they described as an unfavourable impression created by near-free enrolment. Beyond bachelor degrees, the inquiry calls for formalising selectivity for master admissions and increasing financial remuneration for doctoral candidates.

High failure rates and structural misalignment

The inquiry identified high attrition rates as a primary weakness of the current French university system. Only half of students enrolled in the first year of a licence programme advance to the second year, and only one-third complete their three-year degree on schedule. After five years, half of all enrolled students leave the university system without earning any diploma, a failure rate 10 percentage points higher than the OECD average. According to figures from the Cour des comptes, this pattern of selection through failure costs 534 million euros each year. The report also identified student allocation imbalances, noting that vocational and technical track graduates represent 17% of first-year general licence admissions, while University Institutes of Technology (IUTs) fill more than 52% of their seats with general baccalaureate holders.

Garnier criticised the burden placed on public institutions when presenting the findings.

We are asking the university to run a marathon with three kilos of lead in its backpack and finish first at the finish line.

Public perception and political division

Public opinion data included in the report shows that while 62% of French citizens maintain a positive overall view of universities, 58% judge graduate employment integration to be insufficient. Furthermore, only 15% of respondents spontaneously identify universities as an avenue of academic excellence. The share of post-secondary students attending universities declined from 60% in 2018 to 54% in 2025. The proposals drew immediate opposition within the inquiry committee itself. Pierre Ouzoulias, the Communist senator who chaired the commission, rejected the core recommendations and argued for restoring the academic standing of the baccalaureate rather than curbing admissions access.