Vidal called in to explain LPPR opposition

Minister warns of ‘stalling’ French research as criticism mounts over controversial funding reform

Research minister Frédérique Vidal has defended the government’s controversial research reform bill in front of the culture, education and communication committee of France’s senate.

France has “sometimes lost sight of the vital character of science”, she said during her opening remarks to the committee’s interrogation of the loi programmation pluriannuelle de la recherche, the proposed multi-annual research planning bill. Among the country’s researchers, opposition to the LPPR is mounting and has resulted in numerous protests.