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University Directory · Europe & Central Asia

Top 25 universities in France

The 25 leading universities and higher education institutions in France, ordered by the citations their research has received. Part of the WAC University Directory.

25 institutions listed · data October 2026

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  1. 1

    Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (UPMC)

    Paris, Île-de-France, France

    • 155,902 research works
    • 20.4 million citations
    • h-index 1,157
  2. 2

    Université Paris-Sud

    Orsay, Île-de-France, France

    • 119,007 research works
    • 18.9 million citations
    • h-index 1,153
  3. 3

    Aix-Marseille Université (AMU)

    Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

    • 189,177 research works
    • 14 million citations
    • h-index 906
  4. 4

    Université Paris Diderot

    Paris, France

    • 106,329 research works
    • 13.6 million citations
    • h-index 1,053
  5. 5

    Université Paris-Saclay

    Gif-sur-Yvette, Île-de-France, France

    • 161,822 research works
    • 13.3 million citations
    • h-index 981
  6. 6

    Université Paris Descartes

    Paris, France

    • 77,882 research works
    • 11.3 million citations
    • h-index 952
  7. 7

    Sorbonne Université

    Paris, Île-de-France, France

    • 172,285 research works
    • 10.2 million citations
    • h-index 890
  8. 8

    Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UPS)

    Toulouse, Occitanie, France

    • 99,605 research works
    • 9.1 million citations
    • h-index 746
  9. 9

    Université de Strasbourg

    Strasbourg, Grand Est, France

    • 109,278 research works
    • 8.3 million citations
    • h-index 684
  10. 10

    Université de Toulouse (UT)

    Toulouse, Occitanie, France

    • 103,695 research works
    • 8 million citations
    • h-index 730
  11. 11

    Université de Bordeaux

    Bordeaux, New Aquitaine, France

    • 114,024 research works
    • 7.5 million citations
    • h-index 656
  12. 12

    Université Paris Cité

    Paris, Île-de-France, France

    • 118,736 research works
    • 7.5 million citations
    • h-index 838
  13. 13

    Université de Lyon (UDL)

    Lyon, Rhône-Alpes, France

    • 53,593 research works
    • 7.2 million citations
    • h-index 709
  14. 14

    École Polytechnique

    Palaiseau, Île-de-France, France

    • 61,530 research works
    • 6.9 million citations
    • h-index 736
  15. 15

    Université Joseph Fourier (UJF)

    Grenoble, France

    • 44,183 research works
    • 6.8 million citations
    • h-index 739
  16. 16

    Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)

    Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Rhône-Alpes, France

    • 126,471 research works
    • 6.7 million citations
    • h-index 648
  17. 17

    Université de Montpellier

    Montpellier, Occitanie, France

    • 108,136 research works
    • 6.5 million citations
    • h-index 656
  18. 18

    Université de Lille (UDL)

    Lille, Hauts-de-France, France

    • 124,121 research works
    • 6.2 million citations
    • h-index 710
  19. 19

    Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)

    Paris, Île-de-France, France

    • 62,684 research works
    • 5.4 million citations
    • h-index 738
  20. 20

    Nantes Université

    Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France

    • 96,329 research works
    • 4.8 million citations
    • h-index 570
  21. 21

    Université de Rennes

    Rennes, Brittany, France

    • 87,914 research works
    • 4.4 million citations
    • h-index 518
  22. 22

    Université Savoie Mont Blanc

    Chambéry, Rhône-Alpes, France

    • 31,640 research works
    • 3.9 million citations
    • h-index 643
  23. 23

    Université de Lorraine (UL)

    Nancy, Grand Est, France

    • 155,313 research works
    • 3.7 million citations
    • h-index 483
  24. 24

    Collège de France

    Paris, Île-de-France, France

    • 32,377 research works
    • 3.4 million citations
    • h-index 635
  25. 25

    Université Côte d'Azur

    Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

    • 42,132 research works
    • 3.4 million citations
    • h-index 696

Ordered by total research citations recorded in OpenAlex (October 2026). Works, citations and h-index are OpenAlex figures for the institution. How the list is made.

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About the directory

How institutions are chosen and ordered

The directory lists 1436 universities, colleges and higher education institutions in 199 countries and territories. In countries with 200 or more higher education institutions recorded in OpenAlex it lists the top 25; everywhere else, the top 5.

Institutions are ordered by the total number of citations their research has received, as recorded in OpenAlex, the open catalogue of the world’s research, with data taken in October 2026. This is a transparent, research-based order: it favours large research institutions and does not measure teaching quality, student experience or graduate outcomes. University systems are left out in favour of their campuses, and faculties or institutes are left out when their parent university is already listed. Names, cities and websites come from OpenAlex and the Research Organization Registry (ROR).

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