New Delhi, 23 September 2026: The Choose France Tour 2026, organized by the Embassy of France in India in close collaboration with the French Institute in India (IFI) and Campus France, is set to bring Indian students face to face with representatives from more than 50 French institutions, spanning business schools, engineering schools, universities and specialized schools in design, the creative arts and hospitality. France’s flagship education fair, being held during the India-France Year of India 2026, will visit four major Indian cities.
| Choose France Tour 2026 Schedule | |
| 11th October | Mumbai, The Leela, (2 pm – 6 pm) |
| 13th October | Pune, Sheraton Grand, (2 pm – 6 pm) |
| 15th October | New Delhi, Le Méridien, (2 pm – 6 pm) |
| 17th October | Bengaluru, Conrad, (2 pm – 6 pm) |
The 2026 edition will take place at a particularly significant moment for the India-France relationship, marking the deepening of their Special Global Strategic Partnership through stronger cooperation in the field of education, innovation and artificial intelligence. In June 2026, on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France, India and France signed 19 new agreements on their innovation ecosystems, adopted the India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030, and a Joint India-France AI Working Group. The two leaders reaffirmed that education and student mobility continue to be a priority area of cooperation for both governments, with Prime Minister Modi inviting French universities to establish campuses in India.
The momentum is already visible in the numbers. According to the latest figures released by Campus France, Indian enrolment in French higher education grew by 17% in a single year to 9,100 students in 2024-25, making India the eleventh largest source country of international students in France, up from thirteenth the year before. Visa and residence-permit data, which also include exchange students and students enrolled in shorter programmes, put the number of Indian students in France at 12,000 in 2025.
Reflecting on the Tour’s significance, H.E. Mr Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France to India, said, “This has been an exceptionally dynamic year for the India-France partnership, and this Tour carries that spirit forward. French institutions of higher education offer outstanding programmes focused on innovation, artificial intelligence, aerospace and management, training students for a promising career not only in France but also in the international job market.. Our target to host 30,000 Indian students in France by 2030 transcends mere statistics, it represents an endeavour to foster a future engineer, researcher or entrepreneur who will help carry the France-India Special Global Strategic Partnership forward. Choose France is where that future begins.”
This year’s Tour reflects the unstinting commitment of the French government to boost academic mobility. On the engineering side, CentraleSupélec, IMT Atlantique, Mines Paris-PSL and the joint ISAE-SUPAERO and ENAC stand (TSAAE) represent the aerospace and advanced-engineering ecosystem behind companies such as Airbus, Safran, Dassault and Thales, alongside EPITECH and EURECOM for computing and data. Business and management are well represented too, with ESSEC Business School, ESCP Business School, EDHEC, NEOMA Business School and KEDGE Business School among the 19 participating schools. Public universities including Université Paris Saclay, Université Grenobles Alpes and Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès round out the offering, spanning fundamental sciences, humanities and social sciences alongside more specialized fields in design and hospitality.
For students considering following their chosen programmes in French, the Tour will also feature an introduction to Classes Internationales, the foundation-year pathway launched in 2024 that combines French language training with academic preparation before students enter their undergraduate programmes. The initiative, present at the Tour through Campus France India, now runs across more than 30 French institutions and offers access to over 200 undergraduate courses.
Across the four cities, students and families will have access to one-on-one counselling from Campus France India on programme selection, scholarships, visa procedures, accommodation and student life in France, alongside direct interaction with participating institutions spanning business, engineering, arts and design, hospitality and gastronomy as well as public universities.
Ranked as the world’s seventh-largest economic power by the IMF in 2024, France offers lucrative career prospects. Holders of a French master’s degree or above can apply for the APS residence permit, renewable once for up to two years to look for a job or prepare for the creation of a company in a field corresponding to their training in France. The Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI) counts around 800 members, and more than 570 French companies operating in India are estimated to support close to 500,000 jobs, giving graduates pathways on both sides of the partnership.
Registration for the Choose France Tour 2026 is now open at www.choosefrance.in. Participation is free, and students from the host cities and neighbouring regions are encouraged to register in advance.