France is going to invest $480 million in nanotechnologies-European sessions on innovation

The first "European Sessions on Innovation" on 9th December aimed to launch a process of dynamic innovation in Europe, as part of Europe's response to the economic and financial crisis in the context of globalisation. This process should continue throughout 2009, the European Year of Innovation. French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested a new innovation policy in Europe. He put forward the creation a European Acadamy for Science and Technology and suggested to European countries which already dedicate more than 2% of the GDP to research the signature of an "innovation pact" that will then be open to the 27 Member State in order to "turn our research potential into growthAt the first European sessions on innovation, on Dec. 9 in Paris, the President of the French Republic and President of the European Council, Nicolas Sarkozy, announced the French government plans to double its research credits and strengthen the development of clusters in the French cities of Saclay, Grenoble and Toulouse, as a prelude to The European Year of Innovation in 2009.
The research investment will amount to 350 million euros over a period of five years, said Sarkozy.
In his speech at the first European sessions on innovation, the French president declared: "We will create, in Saclay, centers of nanotechnology integration, where fundamental research will collaborate with companies so as to develop technologies, file patents and make products."
He added: "We will double our annual contribution to research projects in nanotechnologies, to 70 million euros per year, resulting in 350 million euros over five years. We will create a fund to invest in patents based on these technologies and valorize them within companies."
Sarkozy concluded: "I want France to be at the forefront of nanotechnologies, notably in the research on their impact on health. This will be financed as part of the Grenelle of the environment."
The setting up of the European sessions on innovation was based on the diagnosis that, despite the efforts undertaken within the framework of the European Research Area, there is still too great a disassociation between fundamental research and applied research in Europe and private funding of technological research remains insufficient.
Topics included "Improving the funding of innovative start-ups", "Better valuing public research and transferring results to the socio-economic world", "Mobilizing all the necessary human, financial and political resources to stimulate creativity and innovation in Europe" and "Regional policies for innovation".
The event gathered players of innovation from all European countries, including researchers, academics, large and small innovative enterprises, scientific culture actors, specialists of intellectual property and funding of small and medium enterprises, experts in capital risk and investment funds specializing in risk financing and business creation and managers of companies and research valuation bodies.