The Law on University Freedoms and Responsibilities (LRU) grants tax reductions for French companies that fund doctoral projects. The details of this form of corporate patronage for PhD students are outlined in a new decree.
The Law on University Freedoms and Responsibilities allows companies that fund doctoral projects in the framework of a patronage scheme to benefit from a tax reduction of 60 % of payments made. An implementation decree outlining how the patronage system should work was published in the Official Journal of 25 April 2008.
Doctoral schools publish proposed thesis topics. The funds made available by business are paid in the name of the doctoral school either to the institution eligible to grant a nationally recognized doctoral degree, or to the university foundation created in this institution. That can make up all or part of the remuneration paid to the PhD student.