'More than 6,100 French Erasmus exchange students pick Turkey'

At least 6,100 French students chose to come to Turkey through the Erasmus exchange program over the last 14 years, said France's consul general in Istanbul.

The French Consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday arranged the third "Erasmus Istanbul" event with the participation of around 200 students at the French Palace, according to a statement by the consulate on Thursday.

Speaking at the event, Consul General Bertrand Buchwalter said the number of Turkish students who preferred France for the Erasmus program was over 7,000 in the same period.

Erasmus was founded in 1987 as a European Union student exchange program and later turned into Erasmus+, which is a program to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Turkey has been a member of the program since 2003.

Buchwalter had previously brought together French students, as well as Turkish students studying in France under the Erasmus program back in 2016 and 2017, said the statement.

Buchwalter stressed that the quality of life and cultural environment in France, affordable university fees compared to other universities abroad and equal social rights between foreign students and French citizens are the main reasons for Turkish students to prefer France for university education.

"With a new education reform effective in 2019, the students who are doing their master's degree in France and want to settle in France will have a right to get a residence permit," he said.

Buchwalter also said that many French students have chosen Turkey for the academic year of 2017-2018.

The Turkish and French students had the opportunity to share their experiences with each other at the event, the statement added.