Science and technology in France has a long history dating back to the Acádémie des Sciences, founded by Louis XIV in 1666, at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. France's achievements in science and technology have been significant throughout the past centuries as France's economic growth and industrialisation process was slow and steady along the 18th and 19th centuries. Research and development efforts form an integral part of the country's economy.
Scientific research in the country is supported by industry, by the network of French universities and by higher education establishments outside the main framework, Grandes écoles.
Read more about Science And Technology In France: Historical Overview
Famous quotes containing the words science and, science, technology and/or france:
“Our civilization is shifting from science and technology to rhetoric and litigation.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“We would be a lot safer if the Government would take its money out of science and put it into astrology and the reading of palms.... Only in superstition is there hope. If you want to become a friend of civilization, then become an enemy of the truth and a fanatic for harmless balderdash.”
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (b. 1922)
“The real accomplishment of modern science and technology consists in taking ordinary men, informing them narrowly and deeply and then, through appropriate organization, arranging to have their knowledge combined with that of other specialized but equally ordinary men. This dispenses with the need for genius. The resulting performance, though less inspiring, is far more predictable.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)
“It is not what France gave you but what it did not take from you that was important.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)