Statement by the CNES President

CNES is now facing major challenges and I would fervently have liked to devote my energies to meeting them. In the words of the report of the Commission headed by Roger-Maurice Bonnet to examine France’s space policy, “the President today shoulders the responsibilities that a previous Minister took away from him!”

Since October, I have recovered my full responsibilities and dedicated myself, in a difficult context, to the task of giving fresh impetus to a realistic space programme within the budget constraints we have been set. This task is not yet over and it will be pursued with the assistance of our overseeing ministries.

Unfortunately, I am forced to admit that I do not have at my disposal the means I consider vital to accomplish my task. For this reason, I have decided today to tender my resignation as President of CNES.

I have spent my entire career as a civil servant working for the nation. I am a Professor at Paris IX-Dauphine University, I was President of INRIA, the French national institute for research in computer science and control, for 12 years, and I have been President of CNES for the last seven years.

Today, I am returning to the world of research and higher education that I appreciate and know well.

On leaving my post, I would like to say to CNES’s employees that I will hold fond memories of a brilliant agency that deserves the nation’s credit. I therefore wish CNES every success in the future and I am confident it will once again prove equal to the hard tasks ahead. I would like to express my deep gratitude to all those who offered me their support, friendship and solidarity. Your support was essential during my years at the agency.

Press contact : Julien Guillaume Tél 01 44 76 76 83