Call to scrap free overseas schooling

FREE schooling for French lycée pupils studying abroad could be axed to save money.

A parliamentary committee has recommended that France's network of 240 overseas lycées go back to charging fees, saving the State €106m a year.

The committee said in its report, seen by Le Parisien, that the cost of maintaining the scheme was too high and it was unfair because it only applies to French nationals.

Scrapping fees for French school pupils abroad was one of Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 presidential election pledges.

He had wanted to extend the free scheme to all of the 82,000 French children studying abroad, including primary school and collège pupils, but this would have increased the bill to €700m.

Under the current system, a child with at least one French parent can study at an overseas lycée at no cost, regardless of their parents' income.

The system is popular with French expats and families who frequently move for work, as it enables children to stay within the French education system.

There are French schools in 131 different countries around the world, including nine in the UK - in London, Bristol and Aberdeen.

See the full list on the Education Ministry website (PDF).