Immigration law: a text that closes university doors to foreigners
The members of UMR GQE-Le Moulon solemnly ask the President of the Republic not to promulgate the immigration law. As research professionals and academics, we are dedicated to the principles of freedom and the humanist values of tolerance and openness that characterize our nation. Universities are a place where cultures converge, and are essential to the wealth inherent in the production and dissemination of knowledge. We strongly condemn this piece of legislation.
The immigration law adopted on Tuesday December 19, 2023 at the end of the joint committee introduces intolerable regressions for the rights of non-European international students, researchers and teachers. Already in 2018, the “Welcome to France” label was intended to promote the reception of international students - doubling their numbers by 2027, thereby strengthening France’s attractiveness to international talent. By considerably increasing tuition fees, the results today are the exact opposite of the stated objective.
By requiring students from outside the European Union to pay a deposit on their return to their country of origin, by generalizing the increase in enrolment fees for non-EU students, and by introducing procedures for verifying the real and serious nature of their studies as a condition for retaining their multi-annual “student” residence permit, this law instils mistrust in a whole section of the university community. It breaks with what should be the principles of welcome in French universities, namely the same rights for all students and the free circulation of knowledge. By encouraging inward-looking attitudes, it deprives the universities of the enriching cultural mix made possible by by welcoming students and colleagues of all nationalities.