The Paris‑Saclay Call sends a strategic message on the eve of decisive negotiations over FP10, the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2028–2034), set to mobilize €175 billion.
This coalition will play an active role in the FP10 negotiation phase (March–May 2026), in the Horizon Europe evaluation (September 2026), and in shaping the EU’s 2028–2034 budget — with an initial review planned during the next Paris‑Saclay Summit, early 2027.
The Call begins with a unifying declaration:
“We, academic institutions, research organizations, universities, technology centers and private companies engaged in R&D, wish to issue a solemn appeal to decision‑makers across Member States and EU institutions. The choices made in the coming months regarding the funding, design and implementation of the future FP10 Framework Programme will determine Europe’s long‑term ability to generate knowledge, turn scientific excellence into innovation, and secure its strategic sovereignty.”
According to Grégoire de Lasteyrie, President of the Paris‑Saclay Urban Community:
“The Paris‑Saclay Call is a bold and collective statement — a full commitment to science and to a stronger Europe. We must reverse the technological decline threatening our continent and stand firm against imperial dynamics that destabilize the global order. In Paris‑Saclay, we are making a clear choice: to turn crises into historic opportunities. Science must be the driving force behind Europe’s sovereignty strategy for the decades ahead.”
A five‑pillar strategic agenda
The Paris‑Saclay Call highlights key weaknesses in Horizon Europe (limited valorization, national imbalances) and builds on the Draghi (R&D‑industry), Letta (the “fifth freedom” of knowledge), and Heitor (Choose Europe) reports. Its priorities are:
- Achieve European‑scale critical mass for major projects (e.g. clinical trial networks).
- Preserve academic freedom, a cornerstone of Europe’s global appeal.
- Strengthen the research‑industry continuum (noting that 24 of 28 major drugs originated from publicly funded research).
- Secure mastery of critical technologies — AI, quantum, health, energy, space and defense.
- Align national and European strategies, given that 90% of public funding decisions are taken at national level.
“Science, by nature, transcends borders. Europe is the essential arena in which to share risks, expertise and infrastructure, building a technically independent Union,” adds Sylvie Retailleau, President of Universcience and former Minister for Higher Education and Research.
Paris‑Saclay: natural birthplace of the Call
This unique region concentrates 20% of French public and private research capacity, combining academic excellence, industrial strength and world‑class infrastructures.Université Paris‑Saclay and Institut Polytechnique de Paris, both of global standing, anchor its scientific core. Over 300 internationally renowned laboratories conduct frontier research on the territory.
Among its flagship assets: the 11.7‑Tesla MRI at NeuroSpin (world leader in brain imaging), the SOLEIL synchrotron (materials analysis, unique in Europe), the Jean‑Zay supercomputer (Europe’s most powerful in academia), and the Quandela quantum processors (European pioneers). With more than 600 deep‑tech startups, Paris‑Saclay transforms science into industrial and economic success — serving European sovereignty through innovation.
The Paris‑Saclay Summit: an unprecedented success
Initiated by the Paris‑Saclay Urban Community and co‑organized with Le Point, the Île‑de‑France Region and the Essonne Department, the Paris‑Saclay Summit has, for three years running, turned the region into Europe’s capital of science for two intense days.
The 18–19 February 2026 edition broke all records: 5,000 participants and 25,000 session bookings (an average of five per attendee), up 45% from 2025. 130 scientists from 20 countries led 80 sessions, featuring world‑class figures such as Nobel laureate Didier Queloz (exoplanets), Valérie Masson‑Delmotte and Jean Jouzel (climate), Eugenia Cheng and Stéphane Mallat (mathematics), Michael E. Mann (paleoclimate), and many others — alongside Le Point’s Top 100 Inventors Awards.
The Summit showcased emblematic commitments: youth engagement through “La Recherche en Baskets” and direct exchanges between researchers and students; gender equality, with perfect parity among speakers and the inauguration of a Territorial Observatory on Gender Inequalities in Education (Université Paris‑Saclay Foundation); and European cooperation in research and innovation, embodied by the Paris‑Saclay Call.
Replay all sessions, including the Paris‑Saclay Call launch, at: evenements.lepoint.fr/paris-saclay-summit/
