France aims to welcome 30,000 Indian students by 2030, President Emmanuel Macron revealed last week, with one of the promises to reach this goal including facilitation of the visa process for former Indian students in France. The initiative is aimed at strengthening academic cooperation between the two countries.
The President made the statement during his visit to India, which was marked by the country’s 75th Republic Day celebrations, and also revealed on X (formerly Twitter) how the plan would be implemented.
30,000 Indian students in France in 2030. It’s a very ambitious target, but I am determined to make it happen.
The French government chief also pointed out that Indian students could be learning French soon as the authorities were launching new pathways for public schools to learn the language.
In addition to French in public schools, he also mentioned that a network of Alliances Françaises was under development, indicating that new centres to learn the language would be established.
Regarding students who do not speak French, the authorities said they are creating international classes, which would still enable Indian students to join French universities.
India and France have so much to do together, now and in the future. We will achieve this with you, our young people, in exchange and cooperation, in trust, in friendship.
French X users commented under the thread, expressing their discontent, with one saying Indians in France will be the ‘nail in the coffin’.
Another one highlighted the housing crisis in France. According to this commenter identified as Lupo, not even a third of foreign students return home after their studies.
30,000 when we build 100,000 homes per year? Where are you going to house them? All this is being done against France and the French.
The criticism can be justified to some extent, as recently, the French government has approved a new immigration law, which really cuts short some of the benefits migrants to France have.
The new bill, which directly intended to reduce the migration rates to France, has also been condemned as “unjust” by international bodies, including the UN Rapporteur for racism.
Data by Campus France reveals that the number of Indian students in France has increased by six per cent between 2020 and 2021, while in the period between 2016 and 2021, it rose by 92 per cent, totalling 6,321.
As per fields of study, Indian students are the third largest group to study schools of business and management, with 3,504 international students, falling behind Chinese and Moroccan students.
In addition, Chinese nationals represent the largest group in schools of engineering, with 3,508 students, followed by India with 1,035 international students, and Cameroon with 1,114 students.
