Paris (AFP)

The Minister of Higher Education and Research Frédérique Vidal defended Wednesday "a programming of the real" which will "change the situation for our researchers" by presenting to the Senate her draft law on research.

This bill, examined at first reading by the Senate after its adoption by the National Assembly, "renews and establishes over time the pact between the nation and knowledge, between the nation and its research, between the nation and its researchers, "said Ms. Vidal.

According to the minister, its ten-year program "will be a game-changer for our researchers because it is a program of reality, (...) anchored in national and European budgetary reality".

"The investment of 25 billion euros that it carries will lead to an increase of 20% of research resources and will sanctuary its budget to the tune of 20 billion euros in 2030", she assured, insisting on the 10-year period that senators want to reduce to seven years.

In response to criticism of her "weakness", Ms. Vidal declared that "the first step enshrined in the finance law (...) is strengthened thanks to the financing of the stimulus plan which creates this budgetary shock at the start of the period".

The text "engages a real shock of attractiveness of scientific careers and this from the doctorate", added the minister, defending the new recruitment devices he is proposing, in which the left and the unions fear a precariousness.

The junior professorships, a device "which crystallizes many concerns", are "an additional avenue of recruitment, neither more nor less" and "are not intended to replace the traditional academic course", assured Ms. Vidal.

"Far from being the Trojan horse intended to lower the statute, as some claim, it is on the contrary a springboard to make academic careers more accessible," she continued.

The examination of the text in the Senate is scheduled until Friday.

© 2020 AFP