Research Loses Its Ministry Weizsacker Changes His Mind

NATURE VOL. 320 27 MARCH 1986 French elections Research loses its ministry THE French general elections last week, which led to the appointment of a new right-wing French government, have also produced a slap in the face for the research THE "Cite des Sciences et de l'lndustrie", Sun and channel light to the building establishment. ForM. Jacques Chirac, the France's giant leap into modern inter through a system of mirrors. The 36- new prime minister, has failed to appoint a active exhibition methods for science and metre-diameter "Geode" in front of the minister to head the Ministere de la technology, is now open to the public. building houses a 180-degree projection Recherche et de la Technologic (MRT), Originally commissioned by the previous system and can seat 370 people. The whole the nerve centre of the previous govern French president, M. Giscard d'Estaing, complex cost FF4,450 million (around ment's strategy on research. Last week, the Cite bas grown out of a gigantic and £445 million) and, with 800 staff, will cost staff at the ministry were in limbo, as failed abattoir built to serve the whole of FF158 million ($16 million) a year to run. ministerial appointments were announced the Paris region. Parts of the exhibition have yet to be com which ignored the existence of MRT. The redesigned building includes two pleted, but all should be in operation by Even worse, the new prime minister, "domes" on the roof which will follow the September this year. Robert W algate the mayor of Paris and leader of the minority Rassemblement pour la Repub As for research, M. Chirac's actions so feared by some of the architects of the lique (RPR) party, has not mentioned far are entirely consistent with statements previous government's science policy than research or technology in a list of five made by his science advisers before the others Chirac might have chosen. A 43- priority issues for the future, although the election. The only mention of research in year-old professor at the University of outgoing socialist government would Chirac's new, slimmed-down administra Paris (South), he studied chemistry at the almost certainly have done so. For Chirac, tion is at the ministry of education, where Ecole Normale Superieure de St Cloud precedence goes to issues such as de one of three junior ministers assisting the from 1962 to 1966, and has worked in nationalization, law and order and a principal education minister will be res North America at Cornell University and return to transferable voting (a system ponsible for "the universities and re the University of Western Ontario. He is a which President Francois Mitterrand search". If the previously advertised pro member of a respected CNRS "labora threw out in favour of proportional rep gramme is carried through, this new toire associe", one of the many CNRS resentation in a successful bid to compli "delegate minister", theoretical chemist laboratories jointly supported by the uni cate the right's hold on the present M. Alain Devaquet, will now take control versities and by CNRS. Many such lab parliament). of the major French research council, the oratories, however, have a sense of having According to the plans of Chirac's sci Centre National de Ia Recherche Scientif suffered from CNRS policies of concen ence advisers, responsibility for technology ique (CNRS), and begin to dismantle tration, which are claimed to have favour policy and the overall distribution of the parts of it in order to decentralize policy ed the CNRS's fully-owned "laboratoires French government research budget will making and to give university researchers propres", and this factor may shape some be given to a prime-ministerial office one more direct power over their laboratories. of Devaquet's own thinking. tenth the size of the present MRT, which Devaquet himself, however, is less Robert W algate would be faster acting and more flexible than the socialists' ministry. But by late Nuclear energy last week, no announcement had been made about the setting-up of such a body. This turn of events presents one big Weizsacker changes his mind question-mark for Eureka, the pro Hamburg the West German debate on nuclear gramme for European cooperation in CARL FRIEDRICH von Weizsiicker, the energy since at least 1957, when he organ high-technology innovation which was physicist and philosopher whose brother, ized the "declaration of the Gottingen created with a great flourish by President Richard von W eizsiicker, is West German eighteen" in which a number of distin Mitterrand last year. Anomalously, president, has changed his mind about the guished West German physicists declared Mitterrand remains president until the place of nuclear energy in the fuel econ their opposition to nuclear weapons. In next presidential elections (which must omy of West Germany. As director of the 1983, he was the adviser on national se take place by 1988). Constitutionally, he Max-Planck Institute of Future Research curity policy to the social democratic can will retain major powers over foreign and until his retirement in 1980, von didate for federal chancellor, Hans defence policy, and already he has vetoed Weizsiicker judiciously balanced his op Jochen Vogel. one of Chirac's nominees for the job of position to nuclear weapons with the According to the unpublished fore foreign minister- ostensibly because the opinion that peaceful nuclear energy is a word, von Weizsiicker has changed his candidate was too much in favour of the necessity. But now, in a foreword to a mind because of the "sleepless nights" he US Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). book to be published shortly, he announc endured worrying about the problem of Eureka will fall slap into the centre of this es that he has changed his mind. the protection of civil nuclear power turmoil, as the programme was born as a Although now 74, von Weizsiicker's plants from attack, either by terrorists or response to the US call for European par opinion is still influential in West in time of war. He says that he has come to ticipation in SDI, and involves foreign, Germany. His revised opinion accompan prefer that the development of solar defence and research policy in high ies a book Die Grenzen der Atomwirt energy should now take precedence be degree. Yet the ministry which has been schaft (The limitations of the nuclear cause of his fear of "outrages", and that he overseeing the programme (MRT) is no economy) by Klaus Michael Meyer does not dispute the possibility that, in a longer to exist: conflict between Chirac Abich, a Hamburg state senator, and peaceful world, nuclear energy could and Mitterrand on foreign policy seems Bertram Schefold, a Frankfurt economist. again "render mankind an important inevitable. Von Weizsiicker has been influential in service". Jiirgen Neffe © 1986 Nature Publishing Group.

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