Paris

Cohen-Tannoudji: won't waste his time on ‘ineffective’ body. Credit: AP

Two prominent French scientists have resigned from the National Science Council (CNS), a special advisory panel created by the science minister, arguing that it is consulted on major decisions only after they have already been taken by the ministry.

In a move seen as a direct criticism of the leadership style of science minister Claude Allègre, mathematician Yves Meyer and Nobel-prizewinning physicist Claude Cohen-Tannoudji delivered their letters of resignation to Allègre and the prime minister, Lionel Jospin, on 14 October.

“According to [earlier comments by] the national minister for education, research and technology, researchers should return to work in their labs rather than waste time on ineffective committees,” wrote Meyer. “That is what I propose to do.”

Allègre set up the council in October last year to advise him on large-scale projects and research strategy. The move followed the creation of a fund controlled by the ministry, known as the National Science Funds, to be spent on reforms and major projects. This year, it increased to FF565 million (US$91 million) for the year 2000 budget (see Nature 401, 313; 1999).

But instead of advising the minister on important decisions, says Cohen-Tannoudji, the council met only three times, and on each occasion listened to reports from the minister on policies or reforms that he had already instituted. “It was more like a briefing session,” he says.

According to Meyer, the last straw came when the minister was quoted in the newspaper Le Monde as saying that the council backed Allègre's decision to go along with British plans to build a new synchrotron — two weeks before the council discussed the subject (see Nature 400, 489; 1999).

The decision was taken in preference to plans to build a French machine that had been 10 years in the making. When the issue of the synchrotron was raised at a CNS meeting on 1 October, it met with strong disapproval from most council members, according to those present at the meeting.

Vincent Courtillot, director of research at the ministry and Allègre's main adviser, says many decisions taken by the government have been approved by most council members. “Members are free to express their views in the CNS, as was widely done at the 1 October meeting,” he says. “The debates may end with majority and minority views on advice to the government.”