Online School in France: Airbus, Sanofi and the EU Postings Beyond Paris

By Alfred Ouko, Founder · October 2026 · 9 min read

France has a large international-school sector, and most of it sits around Paris, in the western suburbs where multinational and diplomatic families live. The international economy is far more spread out than that. Airbus builds aircraft in Toulouse, Sanofi and bioMérieux anchor Lyon’s life-sciences cluster, Sophia Antipolis hosts one of Europe’s largest technology parks, and Strasbourg is home to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. This guide is about families in those places, and about the role a live online school can honestly play in a country whose home-education law is clear and deliberately strict.

Where the international families are

Toulouse is France’s aerospace capital: Airbus’s headquarters and final assembly lines, and a large ecosystem of suppliers and engineering firms that recruit across the world. Lyon combines pharmaceuticals and diagnostics with a big university and research base. On the Côte d’Azur, Sophia Antipolis brings Amadeus and many multinational research teams to a region already home to long-settled international residents. Strasbourg’s European institutions and the European Court of Human Rights bring families who rotate between Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg. Bordeaux pairs the wine trade with a growing technology scene, and Grenoble has a semiconductor and research economy of its own. Each of these cities has some international provision, often one or two good schools, but rarely the depth of choice families find in the Paris suburbs.

The legal position, stated once and plainly

Since the 2021 law reinforcing respect for the principles of the Republic, in full effect for new cases from September 2022, home education in France requires prior authorisation from the local education authority, the DASEN. It is granted on four grounds only: the child’s health, intensive sport or artistic training, family travel or an itinerant lifestyle, or a specific documented situation. A preference for an international curriculum is not one of them, and enrolling with any online provider does not change that. Our guide to the 2022 rules covers this in detail. For most families the practical consequence is simple: the child stays enrolled at a French or international school, and a live online school works alongside it.

What alongside looks like in practice

France is one hour behind Nairobi in summer and two hours behind in winter, so our teaching day overlaps comfortably with French afternoons and early evenings. Many French schools keep Wednesday afternoons free, which gives a regular weekly window for a longer class. A typical arrangement for a family in Toulouse or Lyon is two to four Cambridge or Pearson Edexcel subjects taught live in small groups after school, toward IGCSE and then A-Level, while the French school carries the enrolment and the national curriculum. Lessons are recorded, so a busy week at the lycée does not mean a lost lesson. For the minority of families who already hold DASEN authorisation, often itinerant diplomatic or EU-institution families, we can provide documented primary curriculum.

The subject case, which follows the economy

In Toulouse and Grenoble the requests are for Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics at A-Level, frequently from engineers’ children who may study in the UK or return to an English-speaking country. Lyon’s life-sciences families ask for Chemistry and Biology. Families on the Côte d’Azur ask for Computer Science and Economics, and for American curriculum with AP where a US university is the aim. Strasbourg’s EU families care most about continuity: a single English-medium record that survives a move to Brussels or Luxembourg without being rebuilt. These are subjects a French lycée teaches in French and to French specifications, and a small international school outside Paris may not staff them at A-Level for two or three students. That is the gap we fill.

Where the French school is the right answer

A child settled in a good French school, fluent in French and heading for the baccalauréat and Parcoursup, is well served and does not need us. The French system is rigorous, its universities and grandes écoles are excellent, and Parcoursup reads the baccalauréat natively. Families already at one of the established international schools in Paris or Lyon may also have everything they need. Our role in France is narrower and clearer than in many countries: an English-medium examined record alongside the enrolment, subjects a local school cannot staff, continuity for families who move, and documented curriculum for the few who hold authorisation. I would rather a family knew that before enrolling than after.

France’s international economy reaches Toulouse, Lyon, Sophia Antipolis, Strasbourg, Bordeaux and Grenoble, while its international schooling still leans towards Paris. A live online school, used alongside a French or international enrolment, brings the English-medium examined record to every one of those cities on almost the same clock as Nairobi. If that is the gap your family feels, book an assessment and we will suggest the subjects and timetable that fit.

Frequently asked questions

Can an online school replace school in France?

Not for most families. Since 2022 home education needs prior DASEN authorisation on one of four grounds, and curriculum preference is not one of them. Most families keep their child enrolled and use us alongside.

When are classes, given the time difference?

France is two hours behind Nairobi in winter and one hour behind in summer, so live classes fit after the French school day and on Wednesday afternoons. Every lesson is recorded.

Can Cambridge A-Levels lead to a French university?

Yes. Students with A-Levels or the IB Diploma apply through Parcoursup, listing their Cambridge subjects and grades explicitly. UK, US and other universities read the same record directly.

Where are examinations sat?

Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel examinations are sat at authorised exam centres, which families book. The centre is confirmed per family, per session.

What does it cost?

From USD 423/month for Primary, roughly EUR 389; the fee varies by curriculum and level.

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