Alongside numerous scientists, including Nobel laureates and Fields medalists, the opinion piece is also signed by executives of major French companies.
These leading figures note that in 2022, according to a report by the Ministry of National Education, nearly half of all students no longer studied mathematics in the final year of general high school, compared with one in eight before 2019, and warn of the decline that will result. They remind us that mathematics is the universal language in which we build the theories that enable us to understand the world, as well as the models underlying applications that will, we hope, provide answers to all the challenges of this century. They also point out that mathematics is undeniably both a marker of and a key issue for equality between the sexes and among social groups. "We need more than a wake-up call: the time has come for collective awareness, ambition and action—to restore mathematics and science to their full place in our society. A place commensurate with their promise for our shared future."
