Research: Patrick Le Gales Elected to the National Academy of Technologies of France

Congratulations to Patrick Le Galès, a CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) Research Professor in sociology, political science and urban studies at the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE), who has just been elected to the National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF) alongside 15 other personalities from academia or the private sector.

The NATF is a national public administrative institution placed under the supervision of the Minister of Research and under the protection of the President of the Republic. Four strong ideas govern the action of the Academy for an increasingly reasoned and collective appropriation of technologies: progress, sense of general interest, listening, anticipation.

An election to reward scientific excellence

He will be part of the “Habitat, mobility and cities” working group, whose focus is on technological and environmental issues, social and inclusion issues and the economic and industrial issues of cities, housing and transport.

Members of the National Academy of Technologies of France are elected by their peers based on criteria of scientific and technological excellence and following a rigorous recruitment process. A person cannot decide to stand for election, he must be proposed by a member. After internal elections, a ministerial decree approves the election of members. The reception ceremony for the newly elected members will take place on 11 March 2024.

Cities and metropolises as fields of study

Among other subjects, Patrick Le Gales studies large metropolises and also European cities with a comparative approach, focusing on middle classes, governance, urban conflicts, mobility, economic development, inequalities, as well as the financialisation of housing and real estate.

He just co-edited, with Jennifer Robinson, The Routledge Handbook of Comparative Global Urban Studies (Routledge, 2023) and, with Francesca Artioli, La métropole parisienne, une anarchie organisée (The Paris metropolis: organised anarchy, Presses de Sciences Po, 2023). His work already earned him a CNRS silver medal in 2018.

The CEE: a multidisciplinary approach to European issues

The Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE) is a multidisciplinary research centre affiliated with Sciences Po and the CNRS. Its focus is on the comparative analysis of politics in its various dimensions. Founded in 2005 - as a cross-disciplinary programme to begin with, it has been headed by Florence Faucher since September 2022.

Europe, both as a geographical and institutional space, provides the backdrop for the centre's comparative work, whose aim is to shed light on the changes in contemporary societies in Europe. Two central themes are running through the centre's research: environmental change as well as Europe and the European Union.

The faculty consists of around forty permanent researchers, including political scientists, sociologists, jurists, an urban planner, and a philosopher, who are actively involved in research and teaching. Some 40 junior researchers - PhD candidates and post-doctoral fellows - complete the academic team. The work and expertise of CEE members, recognised nationally and internationally, are regularly honoured with awards. Six members of the centre received awards in 2023.

About 40 associate researchers and nearly as many visiting fellows each year bear witness to the centre’s strong national and international appeal, as does the organisation of numerous scientific events, including international conferences.

CEE members are involved in French, European, and global research networks, both in political science and sociology, as well as thematic networks dedicated to public policies, Europe, the environment, migration, and urbanism. They are also involved in cross-cutting research programmes at Sciences Po, such as LIEPP, MiDi, AxPo, AIRE, and Cities are back in Town.

The members of the CEE are committed to teaching, training, and welcoming junior researchers. They are extensively involved in the teaching programmes at Sciences Po. In partnership with the Urban School of Sciences Po, the CEE hosts two research and teaching chairs: "Cities and Digital Technology" and "Cities, Housing, Real Estate."