Lists of universities in France
In France, various types of institution have the term "University" in their name. These include the public universities, which are the autonomous institutions that are distinguished as being state institutes of higher education and research that practice open admissions, and that are designated with the label "Université" by the French ministry of Higher Education and Research. These also include the communities of universities and institutions (COMUEs), which are degree-granting federated groups of universities and other institutes of higher education. The COMUEs replace the earlier Pôles de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur (PRES), which were groupings  of universities and institutes of higher education that existed from 2007 to 2013. As opposed to the PRES, the COMUEs can grant degrees in their own names. Other types of French university-like institutions can be found in the list of colleges and universities in France; these include the national polytechnic institutes, the grandes écoles (among which are the three universities of technology), and private universities, such as the Catholic universities, the Protestant universities, the private secular universities, and the American University of Paris. List of public universities in France. As of 16 February 2021, there are 67 public universities  in France: List of communities of universities and institutions (COMUEs) in France. As of 5 May 2021, there are eight university groups known as COMUEs, or communities of universities and institutions, in France: List of historical or other universities. Historically, France has had city-wide public university systems: