It's no surprise that the season is all about politics, and research is no exception to this dreary winter weather. As far as the informed public is concerned, the weather began to turn for the worse last spring, and the budget cuts did not wait until the autumn, leading to an upsurge in virulent articles in several newspapers.

As early as April, when the government announced a budget cut of 256 million euros for the "research and higher education" missions, no less than six Nobel Prize winners and one Fields Medal winner, accompanied by the vice-president of the French Ministry of Research, were invited to take part in the debate.Fields medal, accompanied by the IPCC vice-president [1] who denounced a "scientific and industrial suicide" and obtained a partial retropedal from the government [2]. A month later, the French National Research Agency (ANR) found itself in turmoil. This agency, responsible for funding public and partnership research, has seen its budget shrink from 540 to 414 million euros in just a few years, with the rate of accepted projects falling to around 10% [3]. Beyond the figures, it is the agency's management policy and goals that are being called into question, notably through the resignation of the Mathematics and Computer Science Committee last June [4].

French research policy is still searching for a direction. What then is the future of the ANR, and what were the meaning and implications of the committee's resignation last June? What direction is being given to public funding of research, notably through the Research Tax Credit (CIR) and the Plans d'Investissement d'Avenir (PIA)? In a world where research and innovation are major levers of economic power, these topics have become fundamental, and we will be delighted to welcome Didier Roux and Tony Lelièvre, who will bring their personal vision of these issues. The presentation will be followed by a cocktail reception to extend the discussion.

Didier Roux

Didier Roux, who holds a doctorate in physics and chemistry and is currently R&D and Innovation Director at Saint Gobain, has spent most of his career between industry and academia. He spent most of his career at the CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) and in the USA (Exxon, UCLA, UCSB...), but his fundamental research led him to develop applications, resulting in the creation of two start-ups, Capsulis and Rheocontrol. Now a member of the Académie des Sciences and the Académie des Technologies, Didier Roux is also Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Ecole des Ponts. He is a professor at the Collège de France (technological innovation chair 2016-2017).

Tony Lelièvre

Tony Lelièvre is a researcher at the Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Mathématiques et Calcul Scientifique de l'Ecole des Ponts (CERMICS). A specialist in the mathematical modeling of materials between macroscopic and microscopic scales, he leads the European research project MSMath, dedicated to the theoretical and numerical study of molecular simulation. In addition to his research activities, he is an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles and was a member of the ANR's "Mathematics/Theoretical Informatics" Scientific Evaluation Committee.

[1] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

[2] Le Monde, Coupes budgétaires dans la recherche : huit grands chercheurs dénoncent " un suicide scientifique et industriel ", April 23, 2016.

[3] Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Rapport d'activité 2015.

[4] Le Monde, blog by Sylvestre Huet, Politique de la recherche : démission de masse à l'ANR, June 9, 2016.