Christophe Lecourtier: “Moroccan Students Now Represent the Largest Foreign Community in France”
Scientific and academic cooperation between France and Morocco has become one of the strongest pillars of the relationship between the two countries. At a time when student mobility is increasing worldwide and competition between university systems is intensifying, this long-standing academic partnership continues to strengthen and evolve.
Christophe Lecourtier: “Moroccan Students Now Represent the Largest Foreign Community in France”
Scientific and academic cooperation between France and Morocco has become one of the strongest pillars of the relationship between the two countries. At a time when student mobility is increasing worldwide and competition between university systems is intensifying, this long-standing academic partnership continues to strengthen and evolve.
According to the French Ambassador to Morocco, Christophe Lecourtier, the university relationship between the two nations is based on a particularly dense and lasting dynamic. France remains the Kingdom’s leading academic partner, while Moroccan students represent the largest community of foreign students in French higher education. This situation reflects a deeply rooted mutual trust and an academic complementarity that benefits both countries.
In recent years, this cooperation has gained new momentum. French and Moroccan authorities have established a roadmap aimed at strengthening joint training programs, developing double-degree programs, encouraging co-supervised doctoral theses, and expanding Franco-Moroccan research centers. The objective is also to better connect universities with the economic sector, particularly through work-study programs and professional training adapted to the needs of businesses.
In this context, the establishment of French higher education institutions in Morocco has become a major driver of this cooperation. Prestigious institutions such as ESSEC Business School, Centrale Casablanca, and TBS Education have opened campuses in the Kingdom, offering international programs directly accessible to Moroccan and African students. These institutions are now part of the AfricaSup network, which aims to structure and strengthen the French academic presence in Morocco around shared standards of excellence and international openness.
These campuses offer programs designed in close partnership with Moroccan institutions and tailored to the country’s economic needs, particularly in strategic sectors such as engineering, digital technologies, energy transitions, and Industry 4.0. They allow students to build an international academic pathway while remaining rooted in the local ecosystem.
The issue of talent mobility also lies at the heart of the discussion. Many Moroccan graduates pursue their careers in France after completing their studies, particularly in technological and scientific fields. For French authorities, this is not considered a brain drain but rather a circulation of skills that benefits both countries. Recent surveys also show that a growing share of these graduates eventually return to Morocco while maintaining strong professional, scientific, or economic ties with France.
In an increasingly competitive academic world, Franco-Moroccan university cooperation therefore appears as a strategic and mutually beneficial partnership, built on the exchange of knowledge, the mobility of talent, and the development of a shared scientific space oriented toward the future.
Translated from Abderrazzak Boussaid’s French article – le7tv
