French scientists plan protest

Days before the French government is due to unveil legislative plans for the biggest shake-up of science in a generation, scientists are preparing to mount another nationwide protest campaign after accusing the government of ignoring their views.

Jacques Fossey, the secretary general of the French National Union of Scientific Researchers (SNCS), accused the government of ignoring a program for reforming the research environment that scientists had put forward at a landmark meeting in Grenoble in October.

Headed by Etienne-Emile Baulieu, president of the widely respected French Academy of Science, a panel representative of the country's scientific community made 24 concrete proposals for reforming science in France at Grenoble.

These proposals were published in a 350-page report—Etats Generaux de la Recherche (Tallandier)—on January 7, a year to the day that 150 scientists founded the movement "Let's Save Research" to fight government science cuts.

The proposals included expanding the role of universities ...