Sir

In your News story “Nuclear agency may absorb physics institute”(Nature 389, 895; 1997), you say “the move is intended to increase CEA's [France's atomic energy commission's] fundamental research capacity, which is widely considered to lag behind the commission's engineering prowess”.

Fundamental research is one of the important and recognized goals of CEA, and is carried out in all its divisions, and in particular in the Direction des Sciences de la Matière (‘matter’, not ‘materials’), devoted to basic research in physics and chemistry.

Our institute employs 1,800 CEA staff, and there are 1,200 permanent employees in our laboratories from other agencies or universities, visitors and graduate students. The departments are evaluated every two years by international committees chaired by distinguished scientists.

Together with excellent advice, our laboratories have received much praise from these committees, and many DSM scientists have received national and international awards.

I must also say that I was somewhat surprised by your harsh report, given that our results are often published in Nature.