Scientists in France are divided over the creation of the nation’s first ever long term strategy for research — a multibillion-euro plan designed to help the country to stand out in an increasingly competitive global research landscape, reports Nature.
The strategy, which was approved in bill by the cabinet on 22 July and is expected to be passed into law by the end of the year, promises to boost the research budget, create thousands of research jobs, raise salaries and foster innovation.
But many scientists agree that the initiative has failed to live up to expectations.
“It marks the end of 20 years of research-budget stagnation and raises salaries at last, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough,” says Patrick Lemaire, a biologist at the University of Montpellier and president of the French Society for Developmental Biology.