A French algorithmic admission tool ‘Parcoursup’ made headlines in 2018 when it denied many prospective students from French public universities (AlgorithmWatch 2019). Reports indicate that the Parcoursup system advised French universities to reject and admit students based on opaque selection criteria (ibid). The French government failed to notify users that their rejection was the product of algorithmic decision-making but it did publish the source code behind the matching selection. The software allegedly produces its decisions from processing personal data and applicant information (ibid). Citizens, outraged, claimed that the algorithm violated their right to enroll in a university once having obtained a high-school diploma.
