Tens of thousands of jobs could be created

To grow in excess of a point to what it is today, as is the essential issue in order to successfully reform our collective structures. But the growth potential of a country is the result of the combination between work, capital and innovation. We know the winning recipes in labour or capital increase: less constraints, less tax. It is a long-term matter. The real margin is in the added value of the future, i.e. research, development and innovation of today.

If the Scandinavian countries have managed to reconnect with growth and full employment while maintaining a high level of social protection, they should to their specialization on a few leading-edge sectors and the dynamism of their research. The strength of the US economy lies in its ability to innovate and disseminate research products from the private sector, universities or public agencies. Competition on industrial goods and services now a growing number of States, we do not have the means to play on the same table as the countries with less important labor ten or twenty times costs. It is the top one escape the stagnation that we know for years. Our field of battle, it is the research and innovation in technology-intensive sectors.

It is for this observation that the European Council of Lisbon in 2000, has set a clear goal: spend at least 3 of GDP expenditure of research as early as 2010. The France share with disabilities. Research spending is too low; 2.2 of GDP, declining for a decade. Our country retreat with regard to the number of patents filed. The share of companies in the funding of research spending is low: 52, 75 in the United States. Another French specificity, the research in the private sector effort is concentrated. 69 of expenditures are carried out by 3 of the companies. This concentration is explained by the policy of aid to research, a little more than 3 billion euros, for 80 to the defence and the historical programmes. This contributes to low specialization of the French economy on leading sectors, the decline in productivity and market losses.

To achieve the objective of 3 of GDP in Lisbon, we need to spend 14 to 15 billion additional euros. To create a real shock, balancing the cost of research for the benefit of the private sector, I propose the establishment of a full research tax credit through 2010. France, research expenditures are less fiscal than in Spain, the Canada or Korea. Despite its redesign in 2004, the research tax credit is limited to EUR 520 million. At the enterprise level, it represents 5 of the total of completed research effort and 45 of the variation from one year to another, all being capped at EUR 8 million. Déplafonnant tax credit and for taking account of 100 of the costs, a strong sign would be sent to businesses. Tens of thousands of jobs could be created. The cost of this measure is comparable to that of the aid allocated to finance the reduction of working time. But, with the full tax credit, is proposed in the future while the 35-hour is Malthusian.

A dynamic search also involves a symbiosis between companies, universities and public laboratories. The recent creation of the poles of competitiveness pursues this objective. However, in having retained a large number of projects, the Government has taken the risk of the dusting of public funds. And higher education, cornerstone of any system of research, has remained on the sidelines.

In the competition of knowledge and intelligence, our country is affected by the weakness of his higher education. According to the classification of the OECD, the France is ranked 19th on 26 for the performance of its institutions. According to the classification of the University of Shanghai, only two French settlements are included in the list of the 100 best. The France invests only 1.1 of GDP to higher education, compared with 2.3 in the United States. The University researcher not there receives 94.000 EUR per year, against 171.000 overseas.

Our higher education system is flawed. On the one hand, the universities have duty to train all young people who had their tray and ensure very high level research missions. On the other, a myriad of schools select their students and participate in the research effort. To restore the blast to our system, autonomy is a burning obligation. Centralized management of universities is source of deadlocks. And if we want more bold universities, should introduce more flexibility in the management of employment to encourage programmes of cooperation with companies or foreign research centers. The development of public/private partnerships should not be experienced as a loss of independence, but as a possibility of opening. Increased autonomy involves the establishment of a new governance in higher education institutions with boards of Directors more representative and with real decision-making powers.

The compartmentalisation of public research comes also from the packing of structures. Each reform creates new organizations without rationalizing the existing. As a result, overlapping of competencies and a sprinkling of means. Simplification is necessary. The establishment of a small number of independent agencies, specialized on major topics (information technology, nanotechnology, biotechnology and health sciences, space...), is a way forward.

The France has a past glorious research. These researchers are known worldwide. Pierre and Marie Curie, Louis de Broglie, Louis Pasteur, Augustin Fresnel, although others still... However, the France does not have vocation to be transformed into a museum. Certainly, French research keeps poles of excellence, physics, mathematics, in the life sciences. But it should not be mistaken for combat, underestimate the challenges. Our tomorrow's jobs depend primarily on the ability of our higher education to train researchers, our research centres to conduct of many discoveries and disseminate as well as our businesses to exploit. It is essential to quickly build this string of success, because the research and development are the cornerstone of the economy of tomorrow.