According to a 2014 analysis by the National Committee of Scientific Research (CoNRS), which advises the CNRS on science policy issues and participates in
the recruitment of young researchers, the CNRS alone has lost more than 800 permanent positions between 2002 and 2012.
A little more than a decade ago, postdocs were rare in France, in part because the traditional mode
of recruitment at universities and public research organizations allowed
researchers to get permanent positions at a much
younger age than in most other countries.