CNRS Forces French Scientists to Abandon Psi Research
By June Hargrove ·
French psi researchers were pushed into self-funded solitude and forced to abandon their work as a state quota system blocked their path to official university chairs.
In France, the term "parapsychology" carries enough baggage that researchers felt the need to rename their scientific output. According to a report found in the CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room, the French scientific journal of the field was titled Journal de Recherche en Psychotronique. The choice of "psychotronics" was a calculated move, intended to be less provocative than the standard terminology.
The author of the report, Mario P. Varvoglis, describes a field in France that he characterizes as "decades behind" the United States. He paints a picture of a fragmented landscape where a few isolated investigators work in self-funded solitude, often unable to distinguish themselves from "psychics, clairvoyants or healers" in the eyes of the public. This lack of cohesion, Varvoglis argues, creates a vicious circle: the field's negative connotations discourage scientists from identifying with it, which in turn weakens the efforts to organize it as a distinct discipline.
"Journal de Recherche en Psychotronique"
Varvoglis identifies the root of this struggle not merely as a lack of interest, but as a result of the socio-economic structure of French science. He points specifically to the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the central organization that holds a grip on all branches of science within the country. The report describes the CNRS as a means for controlling the nature and funding of the scientific enterprise, functioning through a "quota" system where new positions often only open upon the retirement of a predecessor.
This centralized system, Varvoglis claims, prefers "known quantities" over newcomers and "strange" topics. He notes that the "rationalist" movement has a long tradition in France, leading to insurmountable resistance against establishing official chairs for parapsychology. He cites the experience of Remy Chauvin, who was unable to establish an official chair despite having the support of one of the most powerful men in French industry. Varvoglis admits his own attempt to enter the university and CNRS system was unsuccessful.
Other researchers faced similar marginalization. Yves Lignon, a math instructor at the University of Toulouse, maintained a laboratory that the university's president openly denied as legitimate. Varvoglis suggests the lab's survival was less a result of official approval and more a result of Lignon's media relations and a "tacit threat of a scandal."
CNRS and the Quota System
Beyond the state apparatus, Varvoglis notes a lack of the private philanthropy that sustains American research. He observes that the French are not as advanced as the Americans in the "fine tradition of donations and humanitarian foundations," leaving research to be short-term and self-funded. He lists several researchers who were eventually forced to abandon the field for the stability of clinical interests or medical practice, including Christian Moreau, Pierre Janin, and Rene Peoch.
At the time of the writing, Varvoglis and Christine Hardy were operating a modest laboratory dedicated to computer-RNG research, though he notes they were "feeling the financial pinch" and questioning how much longer they could sustain the work. He also mentions the collapse of the Institute Metapsychique International (IMI) and a group called GERP, both of which had previously provided structure to the field but had since folded or lost their influence.
Resistance to the PA
This precarious internal situation created a complex dynamic when French researchers interacted with their American counterparts. Varvoglis argues that because American parapsychologists are the most "successful" in terms of funding and social standing, they have effectively defined the field's subject matter and qualitative standards. This has created a hierarchical relationship rather than a peer-like one.
Public records indicate that the Parapsychological Association (PA) recognizes those who have made "sustained research or service contributions" to the discipline through its Outstanding Career Award. However, Varvoglis reports that the PA is perceived by some French researchers not as an international body, but as an American one. When Varvoglis suggested that French researchers join the PA or coordinate with the EuroPA to gain legitimacy, the reactions ranged from "cool to hostile."
He notes that those most resistant to joining were often those whose work most closely aligned with the experimental traditions of J.B. Rhine. Varvoglis initially viewed this as territoriality—a reaction to an American "invading" French territory. However, he later suggests that the PA's own admission policies may be discriminatory, favoring those who publish in "officially sanctioned Anglo-Saxon journals."
While this specific report focuses on the French experience, other archival records regarding "INTRA-COUNTRY COOPERATION" and "France-Theory" exist in the Internet Archive, though their contents are not included here. The record ends with Varvoglis observing that money translates into better equipment and more talent, leaving the "Latin" researchers to choose between adapting to the American style or remaining "marginal."