The OECD Review of France’s Innovation Policy is part of a series of OECD country reviews of innovation policy. It was requested by the French authorities, represented by the General Commission for Investment (CGI), with the support of the Ministry for Higher Education and Research (MESR), and was carried out by the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry (DSTI) under the auspices of the Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy (CSTP).

It is widely accepted that innovation is central to economic growth and improved well-being. Public institutions and businesses supply new products that increase consumers’ standards of living and lead to job creation. To support that process, public authorities seek to maintain a general framework that is conducive to innovation and invest in specific institutions that can facilitate it.

The purpose of this study is to assess the French research and innovation system (SFRI). The missions of the SFRI are to mobilise research and innovation in order to support economic growth and help meet the key environmental and social challenges. To do so, it must produce excellence and relevance. The SFRI is the result of a trajectory marked by proven successes since the post-war period, such as the construction of a sophisticated scientific system and a number of technological achievements resulting from major programmes (aeronautics, TGV high-speed train, nuclear energy). That said, conditions have changed, and the SFRI needs to adapt. It started morphing more than a decade ago and must continue on this path. The current climate for research and innovation calls for openness, flexibility and adaptability – all qualities that are not sufficiently developed within the SFRI.

This chapter sets out the strategic issues facing the French research and innovation system today. It tracks its history, marked by the central role played by the State, particularly through the large research organisations, and looks at the effectiveness of this model in the current global and national economic context. It then summarises the main findings of the review in regard to human resources for innovation, the public sector research system, public-private knowledge transfers, corporate innovation policies, innovative entrepreneurship and overall governance of the system. Finally, it looks in more detail at the “Investments for the Future Programme”, a ten-year plan launched in 2010 to develop and transform the French research and innovation system.

This chapter presents France’s performance in terms of growth, competitiveness and innovation. It examines the factors of the shortfall in the country’s balance of trade and growth slowdown, and especially its declining price competitiveness. It reviews the structural conditions for economic activity – in other words, the labour market and the market for goods and services – as well as taxation and public deficits. The second part of the chapter focuses on France’s performance in the realm of innovation, as measured by expenditure on research and development, patents and the share of new products in total sales, and as reflected in France’s attractiveness for international investments in innovation. It compares France with its main partners, particularly Germany.

This chapter examines the matching of human resources and their training in France to the research and innovation system. It reviews the OECD indicators in this area, more specifically those provided by the PIAAC and PISA surveys, using them to compare France with the other countries. It presents the initial training system, as well as primary and secondary education, but above all higher education (the universities and “grandes écoles”), which have been the focus of significant reforms over the past decade. It analyses doctoral and vocational courses in particular, as well as action in this area under the “Investments for the Future” Programme. In each case, it raises the issue of the capacity of the educational system to instil creativity in the generations it is training. Lastly, the chapter examines the positioning of the French higher education system with regard to internationalisation.

This chapter presents the French public research system. By comparing international statistics, it analyses France’s output in science, research organisations’ primary sphere of activity: the number of articles published, recipients of international grants, etc. It goes on to examine the major public research organisations, such as the National Centre for Scientific Research, that are central to public research in France, as well as research at universities: its budgets, staff management and governance. These sectors have undergone successive reforms over the past decade. This chapter analyses them in detail, focusing in particular on the development of project funding and evaluation.

This chapter presents knowledge transfers between public research and the economy. These transfers are a priority of research policy in France, as in other countries, and have undergone numerous reforms over the past decade. The chapter reviews the main channels used for these transfers: partnership research (including research contracts), staff mobility, intellectual property and entrepreneurship (business start-ups by researchers in particular). In each case, it describes the mechanisms in place, examines their performance based on available statistical indicators and compares them with similar mechanisms in place in other countries.

This chapter discusses policies that support business research and development (R and D) and innovation in France and draws comparisons with other countries. It illustrates the State’s changing objectives and methods in this field, where France is now part of a trend towards “new industrial policies”. It examines in detail the chief instrument by which the State influences business R and D, namely the research tax credit, whose breadth places France at the top of Organisation for Economic Co-operation country rankings. It reviews direct support instruments, including agencies such as Bpifrance (which handles financing), programmes such as competitive clusters (which provide localised support) and sectoral programmes (related to defence, aeronautics, etc.). The chapter concludes with a discussion of France’s policy mix.

This chapter looks first at the statistics on innovative entrepreneurship in France: business creation in general and innovative business creation in particular, company survival and growth, venture capital financing, “business angels”, etc. It then examines the various schemes introduced to support innovative entrepreneurship, which has become a policy priority in French, as well as in the other countries with which it is compared. A first type of scheme offers support for innovative ventures, especially financing for young innovative businesses – whether it is direct (grants, assisted loans) or indirect (taxation). A second type of support targets investors, who can obtain more favourable tax treatment if they invest their savings in these kinds of companies, which are considered to be riskier and therefore less attractive. Lastly, the chapter assesses France’s policy mix in this area and offers recommendations for improving it.

This chapter examines the governance of the French research and innovation system, which strongly influences the general effectiveness of the system and the effectiveness of political interventions. It presents the main institutions responsible for the system and the relationships between them. The ministries chiefly involved are the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Ministry of Economy. The General Commission for Investment, which is responsible for the “Investments for the Future” Programme, plays a pivotal role. “Vertical co-ordination” refers to relations between these entities and the research organisations and universities. Evaluation is becoming more and more important. Local and regional authorities are increasingly involved in supporting research and innovation, as are the European institutions, prompting the Government to redefine the scope of its own intervention.