French researchers jobless

French researchers have condemned a decision by the French Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) to halve the number of new research positions by 2004. Compared to 69 positions offered in 2003, only 30 permanent posts will become available at INSERM by competitive examination next year.The National Union of Scientific Researchers (SNCS) has blasted the measure, predicting it will further aggravate the poor employment prospects of young scientists in France. The secretary-general of the SNCS, Jacques Fossey, told The Scientist, “Two years ago, there were a hundred permanent positions. This year there are 30. It's a situation that can only discourage young people from going into research and encourage them to opt for professions in law or engineering.”The SNCS has called for a public protest against the job cuts at INSERM headquarters on December 10, the day the INSERM administrative council is scheduled to vote on its 2004 budget. Neither the general director nor the president of the administrative council at INSERM would comment on the job cuts until after the budget meeting.Henri-Edouard Audier, a chemist and member of the administrative council of the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) told The Scientist there were two main reasons for the cuts. “On the one hand, the government has decided that public research should not be one of its priorities and should be diminished,” he said. “The second reason is ideological. They generally want to replace state positions with less secure jobs, so the tendency is to try to keep young researchers in a less secure position for a longer period of time.”According to the unions, a total of 550 permanent positions will have been lost in French scientific research institutes since 2003. They are steadily being replaced by so-called CDD (contrat de duree determinee) contracts limited to 3 years.Audier thinks decisions like these will eventually culminate in a crisis in scientific research in Europe. “We have to place this in a more general context. Europe is lagging behind the United States in scientific matters, and I believe one of the reasons is this practice of reducing permanent positions in Europe. Although there are similar practices in the United States, at about 35, young scientists can usually find work either at a prestigious university or in the private sector. So we need to make a big effort—not only in France—to attract young people to science. Otherwise we'll end up with a serious research crisis in Europe.”Christian Duvrinche, a young immunologist working at INSERM, told The Scientist he finds the recent job cuts incomprehensible and discouraging: “I think this reduction in the number of posts by one half is not a good idea. Neither is the policy of introducing less secure jobs and more temporary contracts which won't necessarily guarantee researchers a stable position late in their careers.”Duvrinche also offered another explanation for the government's policy of reducing permanent jobs: “They tell us that to be certain we're recruiting the best researchers on a global scale, we have to wait until people have proved themselves. So instead of getting secure jobs, researchers receive temporary contracts, whereas engineers are hired permanently while they're still in high school. But if you look at England, where there are many temporary contracts, this system hasn't been able to keep the best researchers. The ones who succeed in getting those positions are not necessarily the best, only the most determined.”The French government is not only cutting secure research jobs; it has significantly decreased funding in the past 2 years. On Friday, December 5, over 500 scientists demonstrated in Paris against cuts in government funding to the CNRS. A delegation of several representative organizations, including the Confederation of Young Researchers, rallied in Paris in front of the Federal Ministry of Research and New Technologies, and smaller demonstrations were held in front of town halls in Bordeaux, Montpellier, Marseille, and Nancy.Due to an unresolved question of €172 million still owed for last year, the CNRS postponed its 2004 budget decision, originally scheduled for December 5, until December 19. CNRS General Director Bernard Larrouturou issued a statement saying, “It is impossible to decide on the 2004 budget under these circumstances.” In response to the demonstration, the government agreed to transfer the funds owed for 2002 in two installments over the next 2 years, but the issue of future cuts remains unresolved. Audier feels researchers should become more active in fighting for a change in their situation: “Researchers should come out of their shell and make themselves heard. They're very unhappy, but they're afraid to demonstrate.”In the meantime, only €12 of 36 million in government subsidies owed INSERM within the 2002 budget have been transferred. The government has said it has provided enough to cover basic spending of the organization.

French researchers jobless

Public institution cuts in half number of new permanent posts for young scientists

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