Contested Autonomies: French University Governance and its Discontents

In the past decade, the governance of French universities has seen substantial changes in line with developments elsewhere in Europe. Engaging in an ‘autonomy/accountability two-step’, French universities have been granted a significantly higher degree of organisational autonomy while at the same time becoming subject to a widening set of external accountability measures. The French case nonetheless presents interesting specificities stemming particularly from the absence of a strong tradition of institutional-level university autonomy. The present paper explores current reforms against the background of this distinctive historical tradition, probing the mediation of ‘global scripts’ by ‘national filters’. After setting out the broad contours of the historical model, successive sections then survey the 2007 Law on the Liberty and Responsibility of Universities, the 2013 Fioraso Law, and the possible direction of policy under the Macron presidency. The concluding section situates French developments relative to wider trends in terms suggestive of a forward research agenda.