12 - France: During the Long Nineteenth Century

Summary

Historical studies of French science during the nineteenth century have been dominated by three recurring themes that echo the traditional polemical preoccupations of French scientists themselves. First, there has been a focus on the administrative centralization of French science under the aegis of the state. Related to this structural centralization has been a second issue, that of geographical centralization: the concentration of resources, manpower, and influence in Paris at the expense of the provinces. And finally there is the question of the relations between these two factors and a perceived view of scientific decline, or at least of a relative decline, manifested as a sense of failure to maintain the position of international leadership to which the French scientific community has commonly aspired, and even in some cases that it thought to be its due.