Students from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger who dream of studying in France are now facing uncertainty and anxiety due to the deteriorating diplomatic relations between France and Sahel countries.
French consular services in these countries have been closed, ostensibly for security reasons. This means that students like Ophélie Ouédraogo, a first-year medical student in Montpellier, cannot obtain visas to travel to France.
Ophélie has had to resort to distance learning courses, but she says it is not the same as studying in person. She is also concerned about the impact it will have on her medical studies.
Thousands of other students are in the same situation. They are stranded in their home countries, unable to travel to France to pursue their dreams of higher education.
This is a difficult situation for everyone involved. We hope that the diplomatic relations between France and Sahel countries will improve soon, so that students can once again travel to France to study.
France visa suspension, Sahel students stranded, Visa policy impact, France visa changes, Stranded international students