22

Whenever links between higher education and territories are studied in France, one can’t avoid first looking at the universities as they take 1.4 of the 2.1 million students in higher education.. Thus the more complex and intricate the structure of French university system becomes, the more one needs to give attention to territories such as towns and regions to understand how it works. In this paper, two questions are put. First of all, is urban approximation lawful? To answer this question one focuses on the strength of French urban hierarchy and the influence of the concentration on Paris. Such an approximation avoids taking into account the political reform known as decentralization and the growing importance of the French regions. Secondly, do regional university systems exist? To answer this question one tries to define University Training Networks, and then their specializations and dynamics.