FRANCE鈥檚 largest research organisation, the CNRS, has overspent by at least 1 billion francs (拢128 million), according to an audit commissioned by the government. The deficit has built up largely because the CNRS authorises research projects based on what it is promised in the government鈥檚 annual budget. But in recent years the government has reduced the science budget halfway through the year. On top of this, the audit blames individual laboratories for poor accounting. Operating costs have risen much more than predicted.
Last year the president of the CNRS, Guy Aubert, put the deficit at 500 million francs and froze all laboratory spending. The move provoked protests by French scientists.
Edouard Br茅zin, president of the organisation鈥檚 board, says that if the government keeps its promise to provide an extra 300 million francs, the CNRS will probably not have to cut research programmes 鈥渄rastically鈥�.
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