Paris-Saclay

Paris-Saclay is a research-intensive and business cluster currently under construction in the south of Paris, France. It encompasses research facilities, two French major universities with higher education institutions (grandes écoles) and also research centers of private companies. In 2013, the Technology Review put Paris-Saclay in the top 8 world research clusters. In 2014, it comprised almost 15% of French scientific research capacity. The earliest settlements are from the 1950s, and this area was subsequently extended several times during the 1970s and 2000s. Several projects are underway to continue the development of the campus, including the relocation of some facilities. The area is now home to many of the Europe's largest high-tech corporations, and to the two French universities Paris-Saclay University (CentraleSupélec, ENS Paris-Saclay, Paris-Saclay Faculty of Science, etc.) and the Polytechnic Institute of Paris (École Polytechnique, Telecom Paris, etc.). The Paris-Saclay University was ranked 14th in the world in the 2020 ARWU ranking. It was also placed 1st in the world for Mathematics and 9th in the world for Physics (1st in Europe). The goal was to strengthen the cluster to build an international scientific and technological hub that can compete with other high-technology business districts, such as Silicon Valley or Cambridge, MA. This project started in 2006 and is likely to end in 2022. The main part is the construction of the campus du plateau de Saclay. Several French national institutions settled on the plateau after the end of World War II. The CNRS is the first to settle there, headed by Frédéric Joliot-Curie, who bought the estate Button at Gif-sur-Yvette in 1946. The following year, the newly created CEA (the High Commissioner is also Joliot-Curie) to purchase land. The same year, ONERA settles on the plateau in Palaiseau. The Saclay center was inaugurated in 1952. At the same time, higher education institutions settled nearby.