French universities and research campuses will benefit from European Investment Bank (EIB) funding worth EUR 1.3 billion. The French Minister for Higher Education and Research Geneviève Fioraso, the French Minister for Economy Pierre Moscovici and Finance and EIB Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive signed an agreement which establishes the framework for EIB investment participation within the French government’s Campus Plan Programme.

Including the EIB investment’s share, the Campus Plan Programme covers a funding amount of EUR 2.6 billion. Embedded in a larger context of growth-oriented projects in France, the financial support for higher education institutions aims at fostering scientific excellence and attracting larger numbers of local and international students. For instance, the University of Lille II, as one of the first beneficiaries of the Campus Plan Programme, will increase its student intake for medicine studies. Other beneficiaries include the university campuses of Lorraine, Strasbourg, Lyon, Grenoble, Aix-Marseille, Montpellier, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Condorcet, Saclay, Paris intra-muros, and Paris Est/Marne la Vallée. 

EIB - Press release

Opération Campus (in French)

University of Lille II - Press release (in French)