Science and politics: Initiatives and influence of the Groupe des Dix in France

Résumé 0

The aim of the Groupe des Dix (named after the 10 founders), set up in France in 1969, was to strengthen relationships between science and politics. Between 1969 and 1976, researchers and politicians held informal meetings which were intended to provide politicians with more rational decision-making tools. The prospect of a global crisis and the ill-suited nature of “classic” politics to solving this crisis were prominent themes in the attempt to link science and politics and to seek solutions “without calling on ideologies such as Marxism or structuralism”. Thus these “science and politics” encounters, using a trans-disciplinary approach, set out to elaborate a new system of interpretation, a “new reference grid”. The influence of this group can be appreciated through the impact of the different publications of each of its members, and also by the influence of one of its members, Jacques Attali, who became special advisor to the President of the Republic from 1981 to 1991. It was in this setting that he proposed the creation of CESTA, the Centre d’études des systèmes et des technologies avancées that led to the development of a European technological cooperation project, Eurêka, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2015. Via its action for the promotion of new technologies, CESTA also took part in the development of cognitive sciences in France by organizing in 1985 the first conference associating computer science, psychology and neurobiology.