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Have you been notified of a decision from the Agency for French Education Abroad refusing your request for scholarships that you have made for the benefit of your child attending a French school abroad? Here are the options available to you.

First of all, it should be verified that the refusal does not result from a defect in one of the legal conditions which must be satisfied in order to be able to claim the award of a scholarship. These conditions are set out in article D. 531-46 of the education code:

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“To benefit from scholarships abroad, students must: / 1 ° Be of French nationality and registered or in the process of being registered in the register of French people living outside France in the consular district in which they have their residence; / 2 ° Attend one of the establishments appearing on the list drawn up each year by the minister in charge of education, the minister of foreign affairs and the minister in charge of cooperation in application of 5 ° of article L. 452-2; / 3 ° Reside with their family in the country where the school attended is located. (…) "

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If one of these conditions is lacking, the administration can legally reject your request on this basis, except if you provide proof that you meet all the conditions.

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Thus, do not forget to complete or renew your registration in the register of French people living outside France in the consular district in which you reside before submitting your scholarship application.

Applications are made each year, within the scholarship campaign dates provided by your consular post.

REMEDIES

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Note that scholarship applications are examined according to general criteria defined by specific instructions issued by the AEFE (article D.531-48 of the education code). These instructions constitute general guidelines opposable to the requesting families. A scale is provided in these instructions which takes into account the economic and social level of the country in which you live.

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Scholarships are offered by a Consular Council made up in particular of local elected representatives, namely consular advisers, giving an opinion sent to the National Commission for School Grants, which in turn delivers a final award notice to the attention of AEFE before the latter decides on your scholarship application (Article D.531-48 of the Education Code).

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Means-tested scholarships cover either fully or partially tuition fees.

1. THE REQUEST FOR REVIEW

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In the event that your file is incomplete with regard to the supporting documents requested during the request or in the event of a late request justified by a case of force majeure or presented by families who have settled in the consular district after the deadline for submission of files to the first consular council for school grants (CCB1); or in the event of refusal or if the portion of the grant awarded covering only partially the tuition fees does not suit you, you have the possibility of requesting a review of your file after notification of the rejection decision.

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The families concerned are then invited to contact the consular services as soon as possible in order to study with them the conditions allowing a re-examination of their file. Additional documents supplementing the missing information or justifications for changes of situation are often required in order to allow the re-examination by the second consular council of scholarships (CCB2).

2. THE GRACIOUS REMEDY

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If the rejection of your scholarship request formulated by the second national commission, confirmed by the AEFE, is upheld, you have the possibility of contesting this last decision by exercising, within two months plus the distance periods, an appeal. gracious to the director of the AEFE.

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The ex gratia appeal is in the form of a letter (preferably in Registered AR) addressed to the director of the AEFE and must contain the reasons why you consider that the AEFE has made a poor assessment of your situation.

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It is preferable to attach to your letter a copy of the complete grant application file as well as any additional useful documents attesting in particular to changes in the financial situation of your household.

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The letter must imperatively be delivered to the consular post which will be responsible for forwarding it to the AEFE headquarters in Paris.

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Note that the ex gratia appeal is not mandatory, you can directly file a contentious appeal before the administrative court of Paris.

3. LITIGATION

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If the decision of the director of the AEFE after having lodged the ex gratia appeal is still not satisfactory, you can apply to the administrative court of Paris within two months after notification of the decision.

On this occasion, you have the possibility of being assisted by a lawyer in order to assert your rights.

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The court will check that the Specific Instructions have been observed and whether the AEFE has not committed a manifest error in assessing your situation.

Be vigilant about the appeal deadlines that must be notified to you.

On remedies: https://www.senat.fr/questions/base/2018/qSEQ180303978.html

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AEFE website: https://www.aefe.fr/scolarite/bourses-scolaires/criteres-et-modalites-dobonnement

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