France Embassy to Grant 5000 Student Visas Per Year, Ambassador

France Embassy in Algeria is due to issue 5000 student visas per year as by the upcoming university year, Ambassador Xavier Driencourt said Monday.

Speaking to Echorouk reporter at the sidelines of a press conference held at the French Cultural Center in Algiers, Mr Driencourt said the embassy granted 4831 visas to Algerian students who joined French universities and colleges.

He specified that 78 percent of visa applicants were accepted, bringing the number of Algerian students in France up to 20 thousand, in addition to 270 researchers, adding that Algerian and French universities are tied with 600 conventions in the frame of the reinforcement of bilateral relations in the sector of higher education. 

The Ambassador further indicated that French cultural centers installed in 6 provinces in the North African nation have been integrated within a unique body called Algerian French Institute, of which headquarters is located in Algiers, in the former French Cultural Center.

However, the French diplomat has avoided making a comment on the French Ministry of Interior’s decree that aims at restricting the employment of foreign students in France.