President François Hollande has announced that cuts to France’s higher education and research budget will not occur. To reduce deficits, the government had planned to trim programs by €50 billion ($68 billion) over three years. Mr. Hollande stated that of €12 billion allocated to the Investments for the Future program, €2 billion will establish world-class centers of research and higher education through initiatives of excellence. Cooperative research by regional universities will receive €1 billion, and systems biology will receive €100 million over five years. Dominique Gellec of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development stated that costs of France’s research tax credits (CIR) outweigh its benefits. He said the CIR will cost France €7 billion next year and that the credit has not increased R&D spending. Nonetheless, to attract foreign investment and please companies, Mr. Hollande pledged to continue the CIR.

Source: Nature