France is to increase its research spending by 6 per cent, according to draft budget plans for 2018.

Fr¨¦d¨¦rique Vidal, France}s minister for higher education, research and innovation said that ¡°we all know we have come to the end of a movement where laboratories¡¯ allocations have been trimmed, year after year¡±,?reported.

¡°With the 2018 budget, we are reversing the trend and are starting to give fresh oxygen to our research,¡± she added.

A further €2.4 billion (?2.1 billion) will be injected into research funding over the next five years as part of an economic recovery programme, the journal also reported.

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The announcements come after the research budget for 2017 was reduced as part of broader cuts to public spending.

The draft budget plans an increase in funding of around 5 per cent for the France¡¯s National Research Agency. The body has been hit in recent years by a falling budget, success rates in the low teens, and in July its head resigned after concerns over the grant application evaluation process.

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But there is only a 1 per cent increase for the country¡¯s public research bodies, many of which run their own laboratories jointly with universities, Nature reported.

In response to the draft budget, the French Conference of 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Presidents warned that the new money did nothing to cover an increase in student numbers.

david.matthews@timeshighereducation.com