French universities warn budget fails to fix ongoing woes

French universities have warned that the government’s much-delayed budget fails to address long-standing financial pressures, leaving many institutions in deficit and struggling to maintain teaching and research standards.

“The financial situation of French universities is worrying and structurally fragile,” said Dean Lewis, the president of the University of Bordeaux. “Despite an increase in student numbers and expanded missions, the resources allocated have not kept pace.”

The country’s state budget was passed last week after a months-long political deadlock in the parliament, where president Emmanuel Macron’s government lacks a majority. Prime minister Sebastien Lecornu invoked special constitutional powers that allow the government to pass a bill without a vote, in order to push the budget through parliament.

Under the new measures, the overall budget of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research will rise by €350 million (£304 million), according to a government press release, with the broader university and research mission receiving a €725 million increase. It also includes €1 lunches for students and higher doctoral stipends.

But university leaders say the increase does not fully offset energy bills, inflation and increased staff salaries. “Although certain measures may provide temporary relief, they do not fully meet the long-term needs of universities,” Lewis explained.

“This restrictive budgetary framework limits the ability of institutions to invest, adapt their programmes or provide adequate support to students, particularly in the most strained fields.”

Anne Fraïsse, president of Paul Valéry University Montpellier 3, said the biggest pressure comes from payroll costs, adding that the political uncertainty around the state budget had forced universities into short-term survival mode which has even led to degree programmes being discontinued.

“The consequences are also significant in terms of staff workload and this has led to a deterioration in the quality of working life,” she said.

Etienne Bordes, a historian and researcher at Sciences Po’s Centre for the Sociology of Organisations, said universities in France remain dependent on the state budget and have few funding alternatives.

“The entire sector is affected by this insufficient budget, both in terms of research grants and teaching positions that are not being replaced, and construction projects that have been halted,” he added.

Bordes said the current situation French universities face was reminiscent of the economic crises of the early 1990s.

“Almost all universities are running a budget deficit, believing themselves unable to fulfil their missions within the framework of the resources allocated by the state,” he explained. “This situation is leading to a freeze on investment and recruitment, which has dramatic short-, medium-, and long-term consequences for the quality of research and education.”

Bordeaux’s Lewis said funding should be more transparent and sustainable and more resources should be allocated to universities so that they could fulfil the missions they were expected to deliver.  

“Universities need increased core funding, indexed to student numbers and inflation, in order to cover their fixed costs,” he said.

seher.asaf@timeshighereducation.com