The top 15 universities in the Shanghai Ranking, published on Monday, are in English-speaking countries. The leading French institution, Paris-Saclay, ranks only 16th and its position has fallen since last year along with the other three French universities in the top 100, reports FRANCE 24.
The 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities, also known as the Shanghai Ranking, which ranks the world's top 1,000 institutions annually, downgraded France’s four highest-placed universities in comparison with last year.
France’s leading university – Paris-Saclay, which includes the prestigious AgroParis Tech and CentraleSupélec – ranks in 16th place, falling from 13th in 2021. The Paris Sciences et Lettres University has dropped two places to 40th. And La Sorbonne University, in 43rd place, has dropped eight places while Paris-Cité University now ranks 78th instead of 73rd.
Is this drop in the rankings a sign that the standard of French universities is declining? "Not at all," says Jean-Francis Ory, dean of the faculty of economic, social and management sciences at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne. "We are not worse just because we are far from the top of this ranking.”