“We are the least selective country of all OECD countries”, in terms of access to higher education, said Philippe Baptiste, the Minister of Higher Education, Thursday October 29, on franceinfo. “I’m willing for us to be even less selective. But it’s starting to get complicated,” he added, interviewed on Parcoursup. This post-baccalaureate orientation platform, accused of sorting students, has nevertheless crystallized criticism since the start of the mobilization of high school students. The government has promised to replace it in 2028, after a “strong evolution” towards more transparency in 2027.
The Minister of Higher Education's argument is based on a report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to this study, in 2024 France actually had “the highest acceptance rate among 20 countries, with 95% of candidates being offered a place in a higher education program”.
“This figure is accurate but does not prove that France is the least selective country,” nuance economist Julien Grenet, deputy director of the Institute of Public Policies (IPP). “It measures the share of candidates who obtain at least one offer, whatever it may be, not the selectivity of training, nor the fact that candidates access the training they want,” specifies this education specialist.
The OECD report also specifies that “candidates admitted to a higher education program do not always enroll”. In France, on the other hand, the share of admitted candidates “who actually register” reached 83% in 2024.
The OECD provides a second nuance: “Enrollment in a program does not necessarily lead to its successful completion.” A point that the Minister of Higher Education also highlighted on franceinfo, emphasizing the “limitless hypocrisy” of the system. Philippe Baptiste has in fact deplored a selection which is not made post-baccalaureate but "in the first year of the license". At the end of this first year, “almost 1 [student] in 2 does not succeed”, he regretted. Indeed, according to a report from the Court of Auditors, in 2022, only 48% of first-year students progressed to second year.
Furthermore, in 2023, “only 34% of new enrollees in public universities [obtained] their license within the theoretical duration of the program”, that is to say in three years. These very low success rates make France a poor student in this area, placed well below the average of OECD countries. Indeed, "the average graduation rate in public and private OECD establishments is 43% in the theoretical duration, reaching 59% after an additional year", according to the organization's report.
To understand these high failure rates, we must look at the adequacy of the offers with the wishes of the baccalaureate graduates, explains Julien Grenet. According to the economist, the overall figure put forward by the minister at franceinfo "falsely gives the impression that candidates are obtaining the desired training when in reality, there is a huge mismatch between supply and demand." A significant proportion of students in professional and technological sectors do not obtain a place in courses adapted to their profile, underlines the economist.
According to the results of the admission procedure on Parcoursup in 2026, 32,939 professional baccalaureate holders made at least one wish in BTS and did not obtain any offer in this type of training – or a third of them. Worse, more than half of technological baccalaureate graduates (48,700 candidates) found themselves without an IUT offer.
“Around 80,000 candidates without training suited to their profile have therefore found themselves, despite themselves, having to give up on higher education or enrolling in a degree, where they have almost no chance of succeeding.”
“A quarter of those who fail their license are vocational and technological baccalaureate graduates who, for the vast majority, did not want to go. Many of them also request a reorientation the following year,” explains the deputy director of the IPP.
The OECD figure also hides a disparity in selection depending on the sector. Around 17% of vocational baccalaureate holders and 8% of technological baccalaureate holders did not receive any offer, according to figures from the Ministry of Higher Education. Conversely, only 2.4% of general baccalaureate holders found themselves without an offer. Data which also hides geographical disparities: “In Ile-de-France, 28% of professional baccalaureate holders have not received any offer,” relates Julien Grenet.
In reality, the French selection system is "dual", believes the economist: "It is generally possible to have a place in a bachelor's degree. But the selective sectors, whether BTS, DUT, preparatory classes, post-baccalaureate schools, face enormous tension and are very selective."
