The Ministry of Higher Education and Research and Space (French: ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche et de l'Espace, or MESRE), formerly associated with the portfolio of Innovation, Technical Progress, and Atomic and Space Affairs, is the cabinet member in the Government of France responsible for implementing the Government's policy in the fields of research and technology, access to and development of higher education, regulation of access to higher education, and vocational training. It also coordinates the promotion of science and technology, as well as the dissemination of scientific, technological, and industrial culture.
The development of scientific research holds a central place in the French Government's policy: the Fourth Plan (1962–1965) marked the “official recognition of the importance of Research at the top of the hierarchy of factors governing the Nation’s development.” The Ministry is responsible for implementing the Research Programming Act.
The Ministry was established in 1936 under the name Sub-secretariat for Scientific Research, first entrusted to Irène Joliot-Curie and then to Jean Perrin within the Socialist Front Populaire government, but it was dissolved in June 1937. Two years later, the government founded the National Council for Scientific Research, dedicated to the encouragement and promotion of scientific research.
The Ministry was re-established in 1954 under the cabinet of Pierre Mendès-France, focusing on technical progress. It was later associated with Atomic Energy under Charles de Gaulle, with Industry under Presidents Pompidou and Mitterrand, and with National Education from 1993 onwards.
The Ministry of Research was responsible for the development of the Commissariat for Atomic Energy (1945), the implementation of the Plan Calcul (1963), the Ariane space exploration programme (1973), and the Research Programming Act (2021).
Since 23 December 2024, the Minister for Higher Education and Research is Philippe Baptiste, former president of the National Centre for Space Studies (Centre national d’études spatiales), serving in the Bayrou government.
Contents
Name
The delegated ministry has had various names over the years, depending on the era and the government in power:
1936-1937: Under-Secretary of State for Scientific Research
1954: Secretary of State for Scientific Research and Technical Progress
1959-1974: Ministers responsible for Scientific Research
1974-1977: Minister for Industry and Research
1977-1981: Secretary of State reporting to the Prime Minister
1981-1992: Minister of State, Minister for Research, Industry, and Technology
1992-1993: Minister for Research and Space
1993-1995: Minister for National Education, Higher Education, and Research
1995-1997: Secretary of State for Research
1997-2000: Minister for National Education, Research, and Technology
2002-2014: “Super-ministry” – Minister for Youth, National Education, and Research
2014: Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research
2017-2024: Minister for Higher Education, Research, and Innovation
2024: Minister responsible for Higher Education and Research, reporting to the Minister of State for National Education
History
Scientific research in France has historically been closely tied to the public authorities. During the French Revolution, the royal universities — deemed too corporatist and too closely associated with the monarchy — were abolished and replaced by public grandes écoles, which were controlled and funded by the State. With the Revolution, the French State began to recognise the importance of universities and higher education. Napoleon centralised the universities between 1808 and 1815.
In 1880, the Ferry Law established the State’s monopoly over the awarding of university degrees in France: private higher education institutions were thus prohibited from using the term “university.” This restriction remains in effect today, which explains why such institutions are officially referred to as Catholic institutes, even though the term “Catholic university” has become commonly used.
Under the Third Republic, higher education experienced significant growth: by the end of the 19th century, there were 24,000 students enrolled in faculties (including 9,000 in private Catholic faculties). In 1885, state faculties were granted legal personality and obtained their own budgets by 1890. The republican regime placed great importance on public education — not only to promote scientific progress, but also to transmit such progress to industry. By 1896, France had fifteen universities, the most important being those in Paris, Lyon, Montpellier, and Aix-en-Provence. In line with the Law on the Separation of Church and State, universities were secularised, and theology chairs were abolished in 1905.
The State played an active role in establishing the first scientific research centres: in 1901, the Scientific Research Fund (Caisse des recherches scientifiques) was created, followed in 1915 by the Directorate of Inventions (Direction des Inventions), in cooperation with the Ministry of War. In 1917, a short-lived Undersecretariat for Inventions (Sous-Secrétariat aux Inventions) was established. In 1930, the National Science Fund was created to provide scholarships to researchers — the first public funding scheme for researchers in France. These bodies were not full ministries, but worked in coordination with government services. The State's interest in scientific research became official in spring 1936, with the creation by the Socialist government of Léon Blum of the Undersecretariat for Scientific Research, entrusted to scientists Irène Joliot-Curie and Jean Perrin. Though short-lived, it was followed by the creation of the High Committee for the Coordination of Scientific Research in May 1938, tasked with coordinating all research and scientific work. Finally, in 1939, the National Centre for Scientific Research (Conseil National pour la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS) was established to “coordinate the activity of laboratories in order to increase the productivity of scientific research.”
Administration
Since 1981, the delegated Ministry for Higher Education and Research has been based in the former École Polytechnique building, located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, within the Boncourt Pavilion. The site was home to the Collège de Boncourt as early as 1353, later housed the École Polytechnique from 1805 to 1976, and was subsequently allocated to the ministry’s departments from 1981 onwards.
The Minister for Higher Education and Research holds authority over the General Directorate for Higher Education and Professional Integration, the General Directorate for Research and Innovation, and the ministerial office. Together with the Minister of National Education, they share authority over the General Secretariat, the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport, and Research, the National Education and Higher Education Ombudsman, the senior defense and security official, and the ministerial internal audit mission