Unions representing academics and scientists as well as research campaign group Sauvons La Recherche have appealed to prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to halt a project to establish a university in Saclay, south of Paris.
The €1.8 billion project aims to develop a huge campus for researchers and students from more than 20 organisations, including Paris Sud and Versailles universities, agriculture research agency INRA and the CNRS, France’s flagship research organisation.