Who is interested in mathematics in France? Few people, in particular within the State: it is in essence the alarm sounded by the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), which denounces the indifference of most political decision-makers for the discipline. During the Mathematics Conference, which is being held from November 14 to 16 at the Unesco house in Paris, the research organization wants to call on the public authorities to establish “a nationwide strategy to rehabilitate mathematics in the educational and academic system as well as in society in general”.
The high school reform, which first made discipline in class 1re in 2019 before changing its mind by trying to reintroduce it into the common core of teaching at the start of the 2022 school year, illustrates the procrastination of an executive power which does not seem to have a clear mastery of the issues covered by mathematics.
“While the level of mathematical research in France remains high – France is second in terms of scientific publications – it is weakened by a constant decline in the number of teacher-researchers in universities and by the fall in the level of students. in the international PISA and TIMSS rankings”explains Stéphane Jaffard, professor at the University of Paris-Est-Créteil and director of the Assises project.
Between 2012 and 2020, the number of students in the faculty of mathematics increased by 60% while the number of teacher-researchers fell by nearly 7%. In “reducing sail”France is going against the tide, argues Mr. Jaffard, while we are at “a veritable golden age of maths, which can contribute to solving very many problems of the planet”.
“The opposite of an elitist discipline”
Pour “quantifying the importance of math”, the CNRS conducted a study which puts the impact at 18% of French GDP, against 16% in 2012. No less than 3.3 million salaried jobs (13%) have a main activity related to the discipline, in particular IT, electricity and gas production, scientific R&D and telecommunications.
“We observe a greater transversality of the contribution of math, with the need to understand complex systems, to process and interpret data, to make estimates and forecasts, or to implement reasoning in decision-making. », explains Christophe Besse, director of the National Institute of Mathematical Sciences and their interactions, at the CNRS. As jobs go digital, the need for tech skills will grow “with a strong intermediate-level math background”he predicts.
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