International rankings development is related to the construction of « an economy based on knowledge and openness to international compétition » which requires that national systems are to be compared and assessed. Since the « Shanghai ranking » has been introduced in 2003, it has become an essential and structuring mechanism of the neoliberal ideology, which underlines the national and European « reform » policies in the field of Higher Education and Research. Established by Jiao Tong University, this ranking of the top five hundred « best » universities in the world has experienced immediate and spectacular success, particularly in France. Each year, this ranking is highly expected, not only by the media, which are quick to publish and comment its results ; but also by political and academic makers, which use it to make strategic decisions in order to improve their country and/or their universities position. In France, the Higher Education and Research’s public sector is organized differently than in Anglo-Saxon countries. This paper defends the thesis that Shanghai ranking is performative : it produces an objective hierarchy, which was before informal or non-existent, and it artificially creates the conditions for a universities « market ».