France plans push for more European research funding

France is stepping up its ambitions to secure research funding from Europe’s Horizon 2020 programme following a meeting in Paris on 21 May.

Speaking at the France Europe 2020 meeting, research and higher education minister Geneviève Fioraso said that France’s research and innovation must become more closely aligned with the global challenges set out by Horizon 2020, such as climate change, the digital economy and energy. A particular emphasis should be placed on improving France’s performance in technological research, she added, warning that she did not want this area to be the “poor relation” of research.

French researchers are successful when they apply for European funding, but France only takes away 70 cents for every euro it contributes to the European research funding pot, Fioraso said. We need to put in more applications for European funding from France, she added. The government wants to see researchers thinking much harder about getting involved.