Laurent Cousin
A decree published in the French Official Journal gives institutions greater recruitment freedom and recognizes the PhD as a professional experience.
A decree on the status of teacher-researchers, published in the French Official Journal on April 23, 2009 asserts the goal of "taking into account all academic activities and value them in the context of their service status.”
Recruitment. Institutions can henceforth open competitive recruitment examinations “as their needs develop within the ceiling of jobs allotted to them at the national level” and no longer only on an annual basis.
Note that for “academics and researchers who exercise teaching and research duties abroad similar to those required by a teaching researcher in France are exempt from registering on the qualification list."
Years of service. The decree defines the doctorate as an initial professional experience which counts towards years of service: three years for a PhD who prepared his or her doctorate in the framework of a contract (research grant, Cifre contract, graduate teaching fellowship, employment contract, etc.) and two years if no contract was involved. A maximum of four years of service are also counted after the doctorate in the event of a post-doctorate or similar contract.