Gathering in a research and higher education pole (PRES), the 3 universities of Marseille (Provence, Méditerranée and Paul Cézanne) will be associated to the universities in Tunis (Tunis, Al Manar, 7th November at Carthage) and in Sfax. This partnership has been initiated during the official visit of French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, in Tunis.

The agreement focuses on environmental issues, promoting training (master and PhD), supporting the creation of a joint diploma and the setting up in Sfax of a laboratory based on the model of the CEREGE (European research and training centre on environmental geosciences). Universitary exchanges will also be encouraged (in particular as regards water, waste treatment and the safeguard of the coastline), as well as research and entrepreneurship (in fields like energy, transportation, public health...).

Sources: La Marseillaise July 21st 2008, La Provence July 18th 2008