CNRS.

The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) is an interdisciplinary public research organisation for fundamental and applied scientific research under the responsibility of the French Ministry of Education and Research. Founded in 1939, CNRS encourages collaborations between specialists from different disciplines, in particular with the university, thus opening up new fields of enquiry to meet social and economic needs. The CNRS ranks among the leading global research institutions for its excellent research and innovation achievements. It counts 1,144 research laboratories in France and abroad, hires approximately 33,000 people and has a total budget exceeding 3,3 billion Euros of which 86,5% are resources dedicated to laboratories.