Europe and International
14 septembre 2026
Thanks to its international foundation, the CNRS contributes to many major discoveries alongside its foreign partners. It takes part in planetary scientific and technological challenges, in connection with globalized research efforts that develop based on the free circulation of scientists and ideas.
A player in global science
A key player in international collaborative research
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Exchanging ideas for the dissemination of science
The CNRS is strongly committed to global scientific exchange. It collaborates with foreign laboratories, especially through its many publications that help promote French science by fostering research advances on the international level.
2nd producer of publications worldwide
65% of CNRS publications include at least one foreign partner
Nearly 5,000 foreign researchers, doctoral students, and postdoctoral fellows work in CNRS units
The mobility of borderless talent
The quality of posts and the great liberty in research that the CNRS guarantees are highly attractive to young scientists, from France and other countries alike. CNRS researchers are highly mobile, regularly travelling to attend international conferences, carrying out research in a partner laboratory or accessing a given research field. The 'fellow-ambassadors' programme also means internationally renowned scientists can come to CNRS laboratories to bolster their collaboration with French communities.
Worldwide collaboration enables scientific teams to raise the bar. Research that is not global simply does not exist
Steering international policy
The international policy of the CNRS favours a “bottom-up” approach, which is necessary in research dynamics. Cooperation originates in the field, and stems from the interest of researchers and their teams in the laboratories. The institution provides added value through its support for developing projects via tools that structure and strengthen collaborations.
An active presence in the field
The CNRS manages a network of 11 offices located at key global scientific hubs: Brussels, Melbourne, Nairobi, New Delhi, Ottawa, Beijing, Pretoria, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington.
This international presence pursues multiple objectives:
- Promoting French scientific excellence
- Providing support for expatriate researchers or those on assignment
- Following up on cooperation agreements and facilitating relations with foreign partners, in connection with the scientific and cultural services of embassies.
Attractive cooperation tools
Partnerships adapted to the needs of researchers
Flexibility is key in adapting to changes in global science, as well as to meeting the needs of those conducting it. That is why the CNRS offers various international partnership tools: bilateral agreements, long-term scientific cooperation, the creation of international research networks around projects involving teams from different countries, etc.
Research structures across the world
The CNRS is one of the world’s few research institutions to establish enduring joint research structures abroad. They can take different forms: international research laboratories (IRL); joint units with a French institute abroad (UMIFRE) in the humanities and social sciences, led in partnership with the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Our International Research Centers
In 2021, CNRS has designed a new way of cooperating with some of its main international partners, through its International Research Centres (IRC). These strategic partnerships are based on a clear ambition: to pool the resources and expertise of CNRS and its partner to consolidate existing collaborations between the two institutions, while paving the way for new inter- and trans-disciplinary projects identified jointly. Today the CNRS has 6 IRCs.
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International Research Laboratories (IRL)
Actual laboratories located within partner universities, IRLs bring together teams of researchers, students, postdoctoral fellows, engineers, and technicians from the CNRS and foreign partner institutions. The CNRS has 82 IRLs worldwide.
The Abraham de Moivre IRL with the United Kingdom
Research in mathematics seeking to establish a long-term collaboration between the French and British mathematical communities, in partnership with the United Kingdom (Imperial College London).
The IFAS UMIFRE in South Africa
Research in archaeology, palaeoanthropology, the history of societies and urban studies in West Africa (cave art, memory and heritage, migratory studies), in partnership with South Africa (University of the Witwatersrand, University of Johannesburg, University of Pretoria, University of Cape Town, Sol Plaatje University).
The PPC IRL in the United States
Research in particle physics and cosmology (neutrino physics, DUNE experiments, dark matter, astroparticle physics, instrumentation for accelerators and sensors), in partnership with the United States (University of Chicago, Fermilab, Argonne National Laboratory).
The HEalthDEEP IRL in Thailand
Research on health, disease ecology, and the environment and associated public policy, in partnership with Mahidol and Kasetsart Universities in Thailand.
The LIMMS IRL in Japan
Research on electromechanic microsystems and nanosystems (MEMS and NEMS), in partnership with Japan (University of Tokyo, Institute of Industrial Science).
The CROSSING IRL in Australia
Research on collaboration between humans, artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems in key sectors (defence, energy, health, and others), in partnership with IMT Atlantique, Australia (Flinders University, Adelaide University), and the industrial actor Naval Group.
The FCLA IRL in Chile
Research that promotes enduring scientific collaboration in astronomy, in partnership with Chile (Universidad de Chile, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Universidad de Concepción).
The Europe of research
An ambitious institutional strategy
To maintain its involvement and increase its participation in research and innovation funding programmes, the CNRS has pursued an ambitious European action plan since 2021, which includes a number of components:
- the implementation of incentives and support for researchers seeking to submit European projects
- a communication and influence effort with Brussels institutions via the organisation’s Brussels office (in french).
The CNRS, a major actor in the European Research Area
Key figures:
- The CNRS is home to 1 out of every 2 ERC recipients in France.
- 73 European Innovation Council (EIC) projects secured by the CNRS (since 2021).
- The CNRS is the 1st public research organisation in Europe for European patent applications for the 2001-2020 period.
European funding for research and innovation strengthens the competitiveness and attractiveness of the European Union throughout the world, stimulating cooperation between researchers from different member states, and ultimately fostering scientific advances that will be the innovation of the future.
A major player in the European Research Area (ERA), the CNRS is the leading beneficiary of these European funding programmes for research and innovation, notably the H2020 (2014-2020) and the current Horizon Europe programme (2021-2027).
Collaborative projects in response to major societal challenges
In connection with the Horizon 2020 programme, the CNRS is taking part in collaborative research projects focusing on six major societal challenges of the present and future: health; culture, creativity, and an inclusive society; civil security; digital technology, industry, and space; climate, energy, and mobility; food, bioeconomics, natural resources, agriculture, and environment.
Learn more about the Horizon Europe programme (in French)
Innovative Europe
In the face of intense international competition, the European Union must position itself as a key player in innovation on the global scale. This crucial commitment fosters prospects of economic growth for the continent, all while ensuring its technological sovereignty while facing the major challenges of the future. To achieve this objective, the Horizon Europe programme funds intensive research and development projects, and actively supports start-ups and enterprises in bringing their innovations to market. At the heart of this effort is the European Innovation Council (EIC), which identifies, develops, and accelerates revolutionary technologies and innovations. Since 2019, over 458 million euros of EIC funding have supported start-ups that emerged from CNRS laboratories.
For European science of excellence
European Research Council (ERC) grants
The European Research Council (ERC), which was created in 2007, funds ambitious exploratory research via individual research grants known as ERC grants, on the condition that the funded research be conducted within a European institution. The selectiveness of these grants is a recognition of the excellence of the research being conducted. The CNRS is the leading institutional beneficiary of ERC grants since their creation, with over 900 recipients among its research units.
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (AMSC)
Focusing on the international mobility of researchers and the showcasing of their careers in both the academic and non-academic world, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (AMSC) are an essential lever for developing international collaborations, as well as those between public and private researchers.
Research infrastructure
Research infrastructure provides the resources and services used by numerous scientific communities in conducting their research. In France, the CNRS co-manages 80% of national infrastructure. Europe has a dense and varied network of such cutting-edge facilities, which benefits all researchers and allows them to conduct large-scale research.
Photo Credit: © Bruno JOURDAIN/LGGE/CNRS Images
