At the end of November, the research programming law (LPR) was adopted for the years 2021 to 2030. Although it provides for an increase in appropriations of 25 billion euros spread over 10 years, the French academic and scientific community denounced a “
Underfunding
” to which is added structural professional instability and pressure linked to the obligation of result.
The problem is not unique to France;
According to a study published last November 23 in the British scientific journal Nature, out of the 7,600 post-docs interviewed from 93 different countries, 51% said they had already considered giving up scientific research because of psychological health problems related to their work.
Read also: Research law: nearly 5,000 researchers appeal to Macron
A programming law accused of accelerating precariousness
On the day of the adoption of the LPR, a collective of 4,600 French researchers published a column in Le Monde to mark their opposition to the text: "
Worried about the future of French higher education and research, we, member of the scientific community, let us judge the content (...) of the research programming bill unworthy of the reform which French public teaching and research sorely need
, ”they wrote.
Critics of this text denounce a "
trompe-l'oeil budget accelerating the precariousness of young researchers".
Claims that the Ministry of Higher Education admits not to understand: “
LPR is a toolbox with transversal levers.
The goal is to respond all along the chain, to increase attractiveness,
”defends
the ministry to
Le Figaro
.
The increase in funding for the National Research Agency (ANR) is particularly singled out: opponents see it as the promotion of selective and short-term research, focused on calls for projects and therefore on results.
"
What is being prepared is funding for research by projects, therefore, in terms of careers, this means no stability
", breathes Claire, a doctoral student from Strasbourg, referring to "CDI missions", which are supposed to make scientific professions more attractive to students. young, but perceived as precarious contracts renewable indefinitely.
“
It will maintain clientelism, you will have to be in the right circles to be taken on a particular project.
Whereas, what matters in research is the peace of mind in order to be able to reflect,
”she adds.
"
Researchers will have to wait a long time before being able to devote themselves fully to research: they will waste a lot of energy in finding funding and new contracts
", agrees the secretary general of the National Union of Higher Education (SNESUP FSU) Christophe Voilliot.
Read also: Researchers united against the promulgation of the research law
Lack of interest among young people in research
Referring to "
the decline in the number of doctoral enrollments
", the "
stagnation of remuneration
" and "
the average age of entry into careers
", the Minister of Higher Education Frédérique Vidal confirmed during a hearing at the Senate in early October the "
dropout
" of French research.
The community has indeed seen a drastic drop in its workforce over the past ten years, with more and more young people turning away from the profession of researcher: in 2009, according to data from the survey on doctoral schools conducted by the Ministry of 'Higher Education for Research and Innovation (MESRI), 19,769 students were enrolled in the first year of a doctorate (all fields combined), against only 16,039 in 2018, which is equivalent to a decrease of around 18%.
In total, the study identifies 71,200 students enrolled in doctoral studies at the start of the 2018 academic year, "
ie a decrease in enrollment of 3% in one year
".
"
After the thesis, I wanted to do research, but the more I find out, the less it makes me dream,
"
young doctoral student Claire
tells
Figaro
.
“
Being constantly in competition, looking for funding, switching from one contract to another, that doesn't appeal.
All my doctoral physicist friends are like me, they wonder if they really want to get into this.
Yet there was real enthusiasm in the first year,
”notes the young woman, who fears a brain drain.
For Christophe Voilliot, this lack of attractiveness of the profession is mainly linked to the lifestyle and the pressure inherent in the profession of researcher.
“
When we see that the average age of recruitment for a post of lecturer is 34 years, even 40 years in certain disciplines, we understand that it is a way of life which is not compatible with a family
”
.
The Ministry of Higher Education confirms these problems of internal attractiveness linked to remuneration and career development which chills young people, but above all points to "
a crisis of social recognition of scientists in French society
".
According to the senator and former researcher Pierre Ouzoulias, this profound disinterest of young people for research could indeed be explained by "
a strong generational break
" linked to the fact that "
science is no longer a horizon of expectation for this generation.
".
"
There used to be the idea that the researcher was rendering a service of public interest, whereas today we are witnessing a starification and media coverage of science, where it is a question of being in the spotlight
", he says to
Le Figaro
.
"
Science is no longer considered the remedy for all our problems
" agrees to Le
Figaro
, CNRS researcher Françoise Combes.
For Senator Pierre Ouzoulias, the government could have seized on the health crisis to "
show how much science is useful
", but, instead of asserting its indispensable character to society, scientists have rushed into "
sterile controversies arousing suspicion
”.
“
It's a missed opportunity
”.
Psychological pressure linked to the imperative of results
If, for its opponents, the LPR law tends to devalue the status of researchers and accentuate precariousness, they above all stress the obligation to comply with a logic of permanent evaluation.
An imperative for results that would put great pressure on scientists.
"
This demand for immediate results is incompatible with a sustainable research effort, which is part of the long term
", deplores Christophe Voilliot, who claims to observe, in recent years, a change in behavior among young researchers, "
quickly enrolled in this logic of competition and results
”.
A pressure which could, according to the trade unionist, push certain young researchers "
to falsify the results
".
For the Ministry of Higher Education, there is certainly a "
race for publication
", but "
France remains very sheltered from certain abuses that can be observed abroad
", due to the fact that "
researchers French people are largely civil servants
”.
“
The French model is more protective and gives researchers more freedom, so there is less pressure on researchers in France when compared with other countries,
” concludes the ministry.