Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

How France overcame the odds to build a research mega-campus

The huge Paris–Saclay University has earned a top international ranking — but researchers say it’s too soon to judge whether the model is a success.
  1. Barbara Casassus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

For decades, French research has struggled to shine on the world stage. But in a suburb 30 kilometres southwest of Paris, a bright spot is emerging.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 587, 19 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03004-x

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 03 November 2020: An earlier version of this story mistakenly described Louis Fayard as the particle-physics research director of Irène Joliot-Curie Physics of Two Infinities Lab (IJCLab), and the former head of the Linear Accelerator Lab (LAL) in Orsay. In fact, he is a particle physicist at IJCLab and was previously a researcher at LAL.

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links