This was the case with aviation almost from its origins, with Blériot inaugurating Aéroparc de Buc as early as 1912.
Nuclear was to follow in the immediate postwar period with Raoul Dautry and Frédéric Joliot-Curie who set up the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in 1945.
There were major physics facilities including the linear accelerator and the synchrotron
SOLEIL. These were joined by agricultural research institutions, universities and schools, and by successive waves of research labs belonging to large technology companies. This quite unique gathering of resources at Paris-Saclay has grown to represent around 15% of French research, both public and private.
Until recently, this grouping has remained a patchwork of institutions without real synergy.
The history of Paris-Saclay is therefore one of transition from what was essentially a “suburb” with an increasingly scientific focus into a fullyfledged innovation district.
