French sector leaders have decried government cuts to the country¡¯s research and higher education budget, warning that universities are contending with ¡°chronic underfunding¡± while France experiences a ¡°decline in international research¡±.

Earlier this month finance minister Bruno Le Maire announced a €10 billion (?8.6 billion) reduction to France¡¯s overall budget for 2024, a response to revised forecasts that predict the French economy will grow by only 1 per cent this year, rather than the 1.4 per cent growth previously anticipated.

A decree signed by Mr Le Maire, prime minister Gabriel Attal and public accounts minister Thomas Cazenave?on 22?February confirmed a €904 million cut to the research and higher education budget. Included in the reduction is a €383 million cut to funding for national research agencies, such as the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), while higher education and university research will be cut by €80 million and funding for student life will decrease by €125 million.

In a?, the umbrella group France Universit¨¦s expressed ¡°deep concern¡± over the revised budget, noting that French institutions were already facing ¡°constantly increasing expenses¡±. Financial constraints ¡°endanger[ed] their missions and their functioning¡±, the statement said.

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The rectors¡¯ conference went on to observe ¡°a risk of incoherence in public policies¡±, asking, ¡°How can we compensate for France¡¯s decline in international research?¡± Investing in ¡°education, research, innovation and youth¡± was a ¡°political choice¡±, the statement concluded.

In December, president Emmanuel Macron?announced sweeping reforms to the French research system, which would see the country¡¯s national research institutes transformed into ¡°programme agencies¡± responsible for dedicated research areas relating to ¡°the major challenges of our time¡±.

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Speaking at the ?lys¨¦e Palace, Mr Macron lamented France¡¯s ¡°chronic underinvestment¡± in research, observing that in 2017, when he took office, researchers¡¯ salaries fell significantly below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average while funding rates were low. His government had committed ¡°real public resources¡± in order to ¡°reverse the underlying trend¡±, he said.

Pointing to Mr Macron¡¯s speech, Boris Gralak, general secretary of the National Union of Scientific Research (SNCS-FSU),??that the latest budget cuts were a ¡°total contradiction¡± and meant France was ¡°still further away from achieving its goal of raising public research spending to 1 per cent of GDP from less than 0.75 per cent¡±.

¡°It is incomprehensible and unacceptable,¡± Dr Gralak said.

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com