France told to grow ‘quantum Airbus’ to remain competitive

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.