The CNRS (French: Centre national de la recherche scientifique, lit. ‘National Center for Scientific Research’) is a French public research body under the administrative authority of the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Research. It is the largest governmental research organisation in France and the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. Its headquarters are located in Paris and it has around 32,000 employees (4,300 of whom are researchers).
CNRS conducts research in all fields of knowledge, through its various institutes scattered throughout France: ten basic research institutes (including three “mixed units” shared with other organizations), four national service units, two interdisciplinary institutes and one observatory. It also supports research conducted by affiliated institutions such as major engineering schools.
CNRS has had a long tradition of international cooperation, participating in more than 1,900 joint research projects with foreign partners each year (including 1,200 with European partners). These projects involve not only exchanges of scientists between laboratories but also large-scale scientific facilities shared by several countries; an example is ITER (the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) which is being built at Cadarache (Bouches-du-Rhône) to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear fusion as a future energy source.
In addition to its own direct activities, CNRS also assesses and coordinates the activities of other publicly funded French research bodies through its role as lead agency for evaluation within ANR (the Agence Nationale de la Recherche or National Research Agency).