At a time when the Institute for Economic and Social Research (IRES) is being severely undermined by budget cuts, numerous researchers are calling on the government, in an open letter to « Le Monde » reproduced and translated below, to maintain its commitment to this institution.
In the early 1980s, France made a strategic choice to invest in expertise and knowledge production in order to shed light on the challenges facing the economic and social world through its key players. Three centres for study and research were thus established: a centre for macroeconomic studies, the French Economic Observatory (L’Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques); a centre for economic expertise for businesses, now known as Rexecode; and a research centre serving trade unions, the Institute for Economic and Social Research (IRES).
This unique structure has enabled the creation of a pluralistic research environment, based on the exchange of analyses and the independence of expertise. At a time when the IRES is being severely undermined by budget cuts, we, as researchers, call on the State to maintain its commitment to this institution. Other European countries have institutes similar to the IRES serving social needs; these are often endowed with significantly greater resources, such as the WSI in Germany.
At a time when questions about the future of work are pressing, amidst major technological changes, the climate transition and an ageing population; at a time when unemployment in France is no longer falling, work stoppages are rife and workplace deaths number in the hundreds, it is urgent that the State reinvests in knowledge serving the world of work.
IRES supports trade unions and the wider world of work by generating knowledge to address major economic, social, political and environmental challenges. Just recently, the Institute published landmark studies on the effects of artificial intelligence on work, the green transition, the fragmentation of the world of work, public aid to businesses, and reforms to social dialogue… These contemporary challenges cannot be met without research that closely involves researchers, citizens, public authorities, and economic and social stakeholders.
IRES plays a unique role as an interface between the world of research and stakeholders in the world of work. It enables trade union organisations to develop original research projects that closely involve researchers from a wide range of disciplines. IRES is increasingly sought after as a key partner in national and European research programmes for its specific applied, interdisciplinary and comparative contributions.
Despite this recognised value and several warnings, the IRES budget has been cut again since 2025. This development directly threatens the ability of trade unions to seek and rely on independent expertise in the fields of labour, employment, public policy and social protection – key elements of tripartism and social democracy. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the presidents and general secretaries of the trade union confederations recently reaffirmed their deep commitment to IRES and, more broadly, to the ability to base their respective positions on independent scientific research. The lack of a response to this appeal is deeply concerning: it reflects the scant regard accorded to trade unions and the world of work in general, but also the manifest lack of interest in the quality of the evidence used to inform public policy.
Please feel free to support the letter by signing here: https://framaforms.org/linstitut-de-recherches-economiques-et-sociales-gravement-fragilise-letat-doit-reinvestir-dans-la-7