
Image: Steve Jurvetson [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr
Lack of large, leading company creates dearth of applied research in the field
France is in danger of falling behind in quantum computing despite a history of excellence in physics, a leading science commentator has said.
The country has been home to a succession of renowned physics researchers, but a lack of flexibility in scientific institutions means France lacks the ability to transform research into business, said Jocelin Morisson, a science journalist. In an interview with online news site Atlantico, he said that while the country has no shortage of physicists doing deep-level basic research and its institutes do valuable work, it has lacked the proper infrastructure for the commercialisation of breakthroughs.