Choosing to pursue research in France

Pursuing research in France

France, an internationally attractive research destination

• France ranks among the top five scientific powers worldwide in terms of publications and ranked institutions.
• Each year, over 70,000 international researchers collaborate with French teams.
• In 2024, France had 8 ERC grant recipients per million inhabitants, above the European average.
• France attracts nearly 400,000 international students and doctoral candidates, making it the leading non-English-speaking host country.
  (Source : Campus France, 2024)

The strengths of French research

• Leading research infrastructure, distributed throughout the country: major instruments, technological platforms, and world-class laboratories.
• A rich scientific ecosystem, based on alignment between universities, research organisations, businesses, and local authorities.
• An agile ecosystem where many start-ups originate from academia and which facilitates the transfer of technological innovation to industrialisation.
• Privileged access to the European research and innovation ecosystem, thanks to full participation in Horizon Europe programmes.
• Academic freedom, guaranteed by the Constitution and the founding texts of French higher education.
• Values ​​of openness, independence, and international cooperation, as the heart of the French model of science.
• An ambition reinforced by France 2030, thanks to over €25 billion for research and innovation.
• France has established itself as a European leader in start-ups based on public research (four public research organisations rank in the top 10 patent filers on public research: CNRS, 1^st; CEA, 2^nd; Inserm, 3^rd; and IFPEN, 8^th).

How does the French scientific landscape work?

France has an organised and interconnected research system based on four main pillars:

• Universities, which play a central role in higher education and fundamental research, are spread throughout the country.
• National research organisations, such as CNES, CNRS, INSERM, CEA, INRAE, IRD, and IFREMER, which carry out structural programmes in all scientific fields.
• Programme agencies, which coordinate the planning and funding of research by theme or mission (health, energy, digital technology, space, etc.).
• The National Research Agency (ANR), a state operator responsible for funding and steering research projects based on excellence and international competitiveness.

This organisation facilitates collaboration between institutions, organisations, and agencies, and ensures coverage of all scientific disciplines.