The Pasteur Institute in Lille is facing a crisis: while its expenses are increasing, its revenues are not changing. The new director remains optimistic and is counting on everyone’s generosity.
The Pasteur Institute of Lille, which has just celebrated its 130th anniversary, is in danger. The financial situation is critical due to increasing energy costs and other variables. Guest of BFM Grand Lille this Thursday, October 17, Frédéric Batteux, the new director general of the Institute, returned to the situation.
“The state allocation has not changed for 15 years. And conversely, we have expenses that have increased: the cost of energy, inflation,” he regrets.
An institution that does “very high quality research”
The cause therefore is the increase in energy costs estimated at 1.2 million euros per year. But also the increase in interest rates linked to loans taken out to finance a major real estate project, for a total amount of 73 million euros.
“We have to look at the long term,” he emphasizes to justify this investment.
Frédéric Batteux believes that it would be a shame to deprive the region, as well as France, of an “institution which carries out very high quality research”.
He highlights a modern and necessary project in view of current public health issues: “It is infectious and emerging diseases, such as Covid, which are studied. And then the diseases which are linked to aging: diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s…”
A call for donations launched
The director is counting on the generosity of the public, and a reaction from the State to this crisis, but does not want to be so worried.
“I am convinced that everyone will mobilize to maintain and allow this Institut Pasteur de Lille, not to continue to exist, but to develop,” he says.
And call for donations was launched with the slogan: “Without you, our research projects could stop. Give hope to the sick.”
The consequences of this crisis are already perceptible, with a reduction in scientific staff of 31% between 2018 and 2023. This represents a loss of 36 full-time equivalents. As for the future, Frédéric Batteux says: “We are committed to ensuring that there is no reduction in staff.”
