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Starting school in France – crèche, maternelle at 3 and university fees for non-EU students

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

School in France is compulsory from the age of 3, and you enrol your child at the town hall first, then at the school. Here is how enrolment works, how to find a crèche place, how children without French are placed, and what students pay at university in 2026–2027.

Teacher helping a young girl with her notebook in a classroom
Photo: Nina/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock

School in France is compulsory for every child aged 3 to 16, and those aged 16 to 18 must be in education or training. For students, 2026 brought two changes: since 21 May 2026 a decree limits how many foreign students a university may exempt from the higher non-EU fees, and since 1 July 2026 non-EU students without a needs-based grant have lost APL (housing aid).

Is school in France compulsory – and from what age?

Your child must start école maternelle (nursery school) at the rentrée (start of the school year) of the calendar year in which they turn 3. A 2-year-old can be admitted if toilet-trained and ready in language, but only where places are available.

StageWhenStatus
Crèche or childminderUnder 3Optional
École maternelleFrom the year the child turns 3Compulsory; free in public schools
École élémentaire, from CPFrom the year the child turns 6Compulsory
Collège (lower secondary)Classes 6e to 3eCompulsory until 16
Lycée (upper secondary)Seconde to terminaleEducation or training compulsory to 18

Source: Service-Public and the Ministry of Education, read 23 September 2026.

Holiday dates during the year depend on your zone: Paris is in zone C, Lyon and Bordeaux in zone A, Aix-Marseille in zone B. In 2026–2027 pupils in all three zones return on Tuesday 1 September 2026 (Thursday 3 September in Corsica), and the summer holidays start on Saturday 3 July 2027.

How do you enrol your child at a French school?

You enrol in two steps: first at the mairie (town hall), then at the school, by June before the rentrée at the latest. Registrations usually open in March, earlier in some communes. Your child is normally assigned to the école de secteur (catchment school), usually the nearest; another school needs a derogation from the mairie. After a move, enrol at your new mairie within 8 days.

What to bring to the mairieWhat is accepted
Your identity and your child'sLivret de famille (family record book), ID card, passport, birth certificate extract or a sworn statement
Proof of addressA recent one; an attestation sur l'honneur (sworn statement) is accepted
VaccinationsProof of the compulsory vaccinations for your child's age, or of a medical contraindication

Source: Service-Public, read 23 September 2026.

Vaccinations are compulsory for crèche and school. For children born from 2023 they cover diphtheria, tetanus, polio, whooping cough, Hib, hepatitis B, pneumococcus, meningococcus A, B, C, W and Y, and MMR. A child who is behind can be admitted provisionally, with 3 months to catch up.

Arriving without French

These rules apply whatever your nationality. From age 6, your child's skills are assessed at enrolment. With a sufficient level, they join an ordinary class; otherwise they go to a UPE2A (unit for newly arrived pupils whose first language is not French). A child who has already been to school joins a class matching their level – in principle no more than 2 years away from their age – and can attend the UPE2A for intensive French.

For teenagers, contact the CASNAV (the local centre for newly arrived pupils) covering your home as soon as you arrive; your child meets an Education nationale psychologist and is assessed before being placed in a collège or lycée. Pupils aged 12 to 17 whose mother tongue is not French can sit the DELF scolaire. At lycée, bilingual sections internationales (international sections) exist in 18 languages and lead to the Baccalauréat français international.

How do you find a crèche place? The Paris example

Childcare before 3 is organised locally; these are the Paris rules. The City runs more than 454 municipal crèches for children from two and a half months to 3 years. Apply from the sixth month of pregnancy to the mairie d'arrondissement (district town hall) where you live, online through Paris Familles or in person; that mairie allocates the places.

Paris uses the national scale of CNAF, the national family allowance fund: for one child in 2026, the hourly price is your monthly resources multiplied by 0.000619. Resources count from €814.62 up to €8,500 a month – a ceiling CNAF raised from €7,000 on 1 September 2025.

OptionForWhat you pay
Municipal crèche (Paris)Two and a half months to 3 yearsCNAF hourly scale: €0.50 to €5.26 in 2026
Micro-crècheChildren under 6At most 12 places and €10 an hour, for the CMG (childcare supplement) to apply
Registered childminder or home carerUnder 6; under 12 for a single parentCMG from the CAF; at least 15% of the cost stays with you
Tax creditCare outside the home, children under 650% of costs up to €3,500 per child: up to €1,750 (€875 in alternating residence)

Source: City of Paris, CNAF, the CAF and Service-Public, read 23 September 2026.

What help is there with school costs?

Primary school canteens are run by the commune, which need not offer one. Where there is a canteen, every pupil may use it, at prices the commune sets, often by quotient familial (a family income ratio) – ask your mairie.

The CAF (family allowance fund) pays the allocation de rentrée scolaire (back-to-school allowance) for children aged 6 to 18, means-tested on 2024 income with a ceiling of €28,956 for one child. It was paid from 18 August 2026. Part 9 covers the CAF.

Child's ageAllocation de rentrée scolaire, rentrée 2026
6 to 10€426.87
11 to 14€450.41
15 to 18€466.02

Source: Service-Public, read 23 September 2026.

What do French universities cost non-EU students in 2026–2027?

EU, EEA and Swiss students pay the same as French students, while most non-EU students pay differentiated fees for a licence (bachelor's) or master's. Students also pay the CVEC (student and campus life contribution), €105 for 2026–2027, unless they hold a grant.

DegreeFrench, EU, EEA and Swiss studentsNon-EU students
Licence€178€2,902
Master€255€3,950
Doctorate€398€398 – not subject to the higher fees

Source: Service-Public, read 23 September 2026.

According to Campus France, some non-EU students pay the lower rate, among them Québec residents, long-term resident card holders, people in a French tax household for over 2 years, refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. French government scholarship holders pay no enrolment fees. Universities may exempt others, but the decree of 19 May 2026 caps this at 30% of foreign students in 2026–2027, 25% in 2027–2028 and eventually 20%. Private institutions such as business schools generally charge from over €6,000 to €18,000 a year, Campus France says.

Applying, money and housing

EU students apply for a first-year licence through Parcoursup from the end of December to mid-March. Non-EU students living in Europe use the DAP (preliminary admission request), usually between early October and mid-December of the year before; students from countries covered by Études en France apply through that platform.

For the visa you must show at least €877.50 a month, and validating the student VLS-TS (long-stay visa that serves as a residence permit) costs €100. You may work up to 964 hours a year. Since 1 July 2026, non-EU students get APL only with a needs-based grant, a job or an apprenticeship contract; refugees and stateless students may still qualify. And since 4 May 2026 the €1 meal in Crous university restaurants is open to all students.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Gather ID, proof of address and vaccination recordsBefore you go to the mairie
2Enrol at the mairie, then at the école de secteurBy June before the rentrée; within 8 days of a move
3Teenagers: contact the CASNAVAs soon as you arrive
4Apply for a crèche place (Paris) or find a childminderFrom the sixth month of pregnancy in Paris
5Claim the CMG from the CAFFrom the first month of care
6Students: check fees, exemptions and APLBefore you accept a place

Source: Service-Public, the City of Paris and the CAF, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.