Paris
ANGRY French scientists warned this week that a crisis now affecting the
science budget threatens the future of research in France. Hundreds of
researchers across the country have signed petitions denouncing spending cuts,
which they say could shut down operations at some laboratories.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all extremely worried,鈥� says Robert Di Paola, the biophysicist who is
spearheading a campaign at the medical research institute INSERM to urge the
government to end the cuts. Last week, however, the French finance ministry
announced that 20 billion francs (拢2.6 billion) of public spending will be
frozen. This will hit all ministries, including research.
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In an unprecedented move, about 150 laboratory directors at INSERM have
signed a letter which will be sent this week to Fran莽ois d鈥橝ubert, the
research minister, protesting against budget cuts and the freeze on recruitment
of young scientists.
They warn that unless the current trend is reversed 鈥渋rreparable damage鈥� will
be inflicted on France鈥檚 state-funded research. The signatories say the current
freeze on a quarter of the 1996 budget for INSERM labs is 鈥渋ntolerable鈥�.
After salaries have been paid, Di Paola says his laboratory has 15 per cent
less INSERM money to spend this year than in 1995. Until now most researchers at
the institute felt relatively sheltered from the huge financial problems that
have beset the CNRS, France鈥檚 biggest research organisation. 鈥淭his is no longer
the case,鈥� says Di Paola.
For the past few years the CNRS has been struggling to pay off debts, which
are estimated at more than a billion francs. The government has helped to bale
out the CNRS, but the organisation still has serious financial problems.
At the beginning of this year the CNRS management emptied laboratory accounts
in order to 鈥渁udit鈥� them. The move outraged researchers and left some lab
oratories virtually penniless. Although laboratories have now been given their
operating budgets for 1996, any money left over from 1995 has been held back. In
some cases, if labs had overspent the sum was deducted from their budgets for
this year.
CNRS scientists say the organisation鈥檚 overzealous accountants also
confiscated money from outside sources, such as grants from industry or the
European Union.
鈥淲e鈥檙e being treated like robbers,鈥� says one furious biologist who got wind
of the audit late last year and quickly spent all his CNRS money. He says the
organisation鈥檚 bloated bureaucracy has lost touch with its 11 600 scientists,
leaving morale at an all-time low.
The CNRS admits that the audits have caused 鈥渟hock鈥� and left about a quarter
of its labs with less to spend this year than last. But a spokesman says the
鈥渃leaning up鈥� of accounts will lead to healthy balance sheets by next
year.
Some 600 senior researchers have signed a petition denouncing the cuts and
another is doing the rounds of labs and will be given to the CNRS board of
directors when it meets this week.