CNRS reform opposed

Unions in France are stepping up their campaign against the proposed reform of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) ahead of a key vote now scheduled for May 19. The vote on the future of the French research giant—which employs 11,600 researchers and 14,400 engineers and technical and administrative staff—was pushed back last week by CNRS Director General Bernard Larrouturou in response to tough opposition to his proposed reform strategy. Jacques Fossey, general secretary of the National Union of Scientific Researchers (SNCS), said that the organizational changes proposed by the reform plan would weaken the voice of scientists within CNRS. He said that the strength of CNRS rests on the close relationship between scientists and their superiors, the directors of science departments. The proposed creation of another layer of decision-makers—the so-called interregional directors (DIR) who represent regional CNRS centers and are responsible for interdisciplinary cooperation—would lead to a corresponding reduction in the power of the heads of the eight scientific departments, who currently enjoy almost undisputed leadership, Fossey said. "To have a strong head of a department has been good for the scientists," Fossey said. "The reform will see the administrators gaining power at the expense of the scientists." The unions also oppose plans to axe 600 permanent positions at CNRS between now and 2010. "The plan is to replace the jobs with visiting professorships. Of course, we think this is a good idea, but we would like to see more visiting professorships in addition to permanent positions and not instead of them," Fossey told The Scientist. Jean Michel Le Maire, who is charge of coordinating the implementation of the reform project at CNRS, however, denied that the changes in the organizational structure would weaken the voice of scientists. "The five DIR sitting on the executive board will all be top scientists, who know what is going on in science. The reform will allow better coordination between departments than there is now. Also, it will allow the heads of scientific departments more time to focus on science and think because they will not have to do time consuming routine tasks such as replacing a secretary," he told The Scientist. Le Maire also denied that there were plans to axe 600 permanent positions. "The fact that CNRS has so many permanent positions is a competitive advantage, but we need to strike a balance between permanent positions and mobility. In the future, we see no reason to increase the number of permanent researchers because there are enough. But we want to increase the number of visiting professors to facilitate the exchange of ideas," he said. "This is the plan, but we cannot say what the numbers will look like in 2010." Le Maire did not think that the unions would block the May 19 vote, in spite of their opposition to some aspects of the reform. He said that the government of France could, however, seek to rein in CNRS. "In France, governments—whether they are left or right—are not happy when a big institution such as the CNRS manages its own evolution," Le Maire said. "I hope that the government does not use the delay in issuing a general law about science as an excuse to delay the decision on May 19." In a strategy document published last year, CNRS President Gérard Mégie and Larrouturou warned that the CNRS had slept through many of the dramatic changes in the way that science has been done in the last 20 years. One of the document's recommendations was to give a high priority to attracting bright scientists from abroad with sufficient financial inducements. In line with this, the CNRS has opened its recruitment process to scientists from abroad this year for 400 tenured positions. The recent debate over CNRS' strategy has unfolded in a climate of confrontation between scientists and the French government over low funding and poor working conditions and at a time when the French government is preparing a general law on science.

CNRS reform opposed

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