COP26: All the funds but a lack of ardour

France’s energy strategy requires pioneering R&D, but scientific elan is short among country’s reform-tired academics

French presidents like to make their mark on the country. Francois Mitterrand’s Louvre Pyramid would be unimaginable elsewhere: other capitals have more plate glass buildings than Paris, but few have the audacity to put them in the middle of a national monument.

In similar spirit, Emmanuel Macron’s presidency has been defined by putting a shiny Silicon Valley veneer on cutting-edge research spending. His France 2030 plan, launched just two weeks away from COP26 in Glasgow, promises big, visionary, expensive projects. Under the plan, France will develop hydrogen technology and modular nuclear reactors—all in lockstep with the country’s biggest and most favourite grands enterprises.