FR
France
France ranks between 4th and 32nd across the 45 technologies, by share of the 10% most cited papers, 2021–2025.
TechnologyRankIts neighbours in the rankingShare of the top 10%, from 2021 to 2025Its institution with the most credit
Nuclear fusion
5thof 50
1stUS27.5%3rdDE11.8%4thGB10.1%5thFR5.3%6thIT5.0%7thCH3.2%
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives1.5% of the top 10%
Quantum sensors
5thof 48
1stCN22.5%3rdDE10.2%4thGB8.4%5thFR5.2%6thIT3.3%7–8NL3.0%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique1.0% of the top 10%
Hyperspectral imaging
5thof 54
1stCN71.4%3rdIN2.4%4thES1.9%5thFR1.7%6–7AU1.4%6–7IT1.4%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.3% of the top 10%
High-performance computing
6thof 45
1stUS36.3%4–5IT4.4%4–5ES4.3%6thFR3.3%7–8GB2.8%7–8CH2.8%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.8% of the top 10%
Space launch
6–7tied, of 18
1stCN34.8%4–5IT6.9%4–5DE6.8%6–7FR5.4%6–7IN5.2%8–9PL3.0%
Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales1.2% of the top 10%
Nuclear fission power
6–7tied, of 64
1stCN43.3%4–5GB3.1%4–5RU3.1%6–7FR2.1%6–7CA2.1%8thIN1.8%
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives0.4% of the top 10%
Atomic clocks
7–8tied, of 274.5 papers of credit
1stUS38.7%4–6JP4.7%4–6AU4.2%7–8FR3.5%7–8AT2.9%9–16BE0.8%
Bureau international des poids et mesures1.1% of the top 10%
Advanced aircraft engines
7–11tied, of 474.5 papers of credit
1stCN64.6%5–6TR2.0%5–6DE2.0%7–11FR1.3%7–11PL1.3%7–11KR1.3%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.2% of the top 10%
Inertial navigation
7–10tied, of 40
1stCN64.0%5–6DE2.2%7–10AU1.9%7–10FR1.8%7–10IL1.7%7–10IT1.6%
Institut Franco-Allemand de Recherches de Saint-Louis0.3% of the top 10%
Electronic warfare
4–19tied, of 231.0 papers of credit
1stCN81.0%4–19PK0.8%4–19ZA0.8%4–19FR0.8%4–19NO0.8%4–19SG0.8%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.2% of the top 10%
Quantum communication
9–10tied, of 57
1stCN28.9%6–8AT3.2%6–8IN3.1%9–10FR2.5%9–10NL2.5%11–13CA2.1%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.4% of the top 10%
Hypersonic flight
9–11tied, of 283.4 papers of credit
1stCN65.9%4–7DE1.5%8thIR1.3%9–11FR0.9%9–11SA0.9%9–11GB0.8%
Arts et Métiers0.1% of the top 10%
Optical communication
9thof 54
1stCN38.8%7thIN2.4%8thEG2.0%9thFR1.8%10–11BE1.6%10–11KR1.6%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.2% of the top 10%
Critical minerals processing
10–13tied, of 58
1stCN43.0%7–9KR1.9%7–9ES1.8%10–13FR1.7%10–13IT1.6%10–13BR1.5%
Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières0.2% of the top 10%
Satellite navigation
10thof 45
1stCN56.1%8–9FI1.8%8–9PL1.7%10thFR1.5%11thGB1.3%12–13KR1.2%
Université Gustave Eiffel0.3% of the top 10%
Magnets and superconductors
10thof 58
1stCN35.0%7–8CH2.6%9thNZ2.2%10thFR1.7%11thIR1.3%12–16SA1.0%
Groupe de Recherche en Énergie Électrique de Nancy0.3% of the top 10%
Quantum computing
11thof 71
1stUS34.9%8–9AU2.9%10thIT2.8%11thFR2.4%12thAT2.2%13thIN2.1%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.4% of the top 10%
Metamaterials
11thof 73
1stCN55.5%9thDE1.7%10thIR1.6%11thFR1.4%12thSA1.2%13thIT1.1%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.4% of the top 10%
Directed energy
10–21tied, of 210.8 papers of credit
1stCN57.5%10–21PT1.1%10–21IT1.0%10–21FR0.8%10–21AU0.8%10–21CZ0.6%
Institut Fresnel0.3% of the top 10%
Advanced robotics
12thof 54
1stCN31.5%10thJP2.7%11thSG2.3%12thFR1.8%13thNL1.6%14thCA1.3%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.3% of the top 10%
Advanced composites
12–14tied, of 68
1stCN50.8%10–11DE1.0%10–11MY0.9%12–14FR0.9%12–14CA0.9%12–14JP0.9%
Université de technologie de belfort-montbéliard0.2% of the top 10%
Synthetic biology
11–14tied, of 55
1stCN45.7%11–14CA0.9%11–14BE0.8%11–14FR0.8%11–14NL0.8%15–19SE0.7%
Université Paris-Saclay0.1% of the top 10%
6G and advanced wireless
12–13tied, of 80
1stCN39.9%11thSE1.8%12–13AU1.7%12–13FR1.7%14–15IT1.4%14–15AE1.4%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.3% of the top 10%
Post-quantum cryptography
11–14tied, of 59
1stCN20.4%11–14TR1.7%11–14SG1.6%11–14FR1.5%15–17BE1.4%15–17CA1.3%
Thales (France)0.2% of the top 10%
Electric batteries
14thof 89
1stCN68.0%11–13SA0.5%11–13ES0.5%14thFR0.4%15–21MY0.3%15–21TW0.3%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.1% of the top 10%
AI chips
14–15tied, of 46
1stCN46.2%11–13TW1.2%11–13ES1.2%14–15FR1.2%14–15AU1.2%16thNL0.9%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.2% of the top 10%
Autonomous underwater vehicles
14–20tied, of 442.4 papers of credit
1stCN71.7%8–13VN0.8%14–20ES0.7%14–20FR0.6%14–20NO0.6%14–20HK0.6%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.2% of the top 10%
Hydrogen by electrolysis
13–16tied, of 83
1stCN53.0%13–16EG0.9%13–16PT0.9%13–16FR0.9%13–16JP0.9%17–20TW0.7%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.1% of the top 10%
Additive manufacturing
15–16tied, of 90
1stCN34.0%13–14ES1.3%13–14GR1.3%15–16FR1.1%15–16PT1.0%17–19AE0.9%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.2% of the top 10%
mRNA vaccines and therapeutics
14–15tied, of 70
1stUS38.7%12–13SE1.5%14–15SG1.1%14–15FR1.0%16–17BE0.8%16–17IR0.8%
Sanofi (France)0.2% of the top 10%
Gene editing
16–18tied, of 77
1stUS32.2%13–14PK1.1%15thDK0.9%16–18FR0.8%16–18ES0.8%16–18SA0.7%
Inserm0.1% of the top 10%
Genome sequencing
15–18tied, of 59
1stUS33.6%13–14JP1.1%15–18DK1.0%15–18FR1.0%15–18AT0.9%15–18SG0.8%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.1% of the top 10%
Drones and swarming
16–18tied, of 81
1stCN52.2%14–15TW1.1%16–18MY0.9%16–18FR0.9%16–18GR0.8%19thPK0.8%
Laboratoire d'Informatique Gaspard-Monge0.1% of the top 10%
Wide-bandgap semiconductors
13–17tied, of 56
1stCN40.8%13–17ES0.8%13–17NO0.8%13–17FR0.8%18thRU0.8%19–22PL0.6%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.2% of the top 10%
Small satellites
15–23tied, of 472.0 papers of credit
1stUS13.7%15–23MA1.8%15–23BR1.6%15–23FR1.6%15–23FI1.5%15–23TR1.5%
International Space University0.8% of the top 10%
Advanced chip manufacturing
13–20tied, of 391.5 papers of credit
1stCN31.8%13–20GB0.5%13–20MY0.5%13–20FR0.4%13–20IT0.4%13–20NO0.4%
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives0.1% of the top 10%
Distributed ledgers
17–20tied, of 103
1stCN20.6%16thSG1.2%17–20JO1.0%17–20FR1.0%17–20TR1.0%17–20FI1.0%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.1% of the top 10%
Large language models
19–20tied, of 96
1stCN27.4%17thTR0.9%18thAE0.8%19–20FR0.7%19–20SE0.7%21stNL0.6%
Huawei Technologies (France)0.1% of the top 10%
Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel
20–21tied, of 68
1stCN44.5%17–19HK1.1%17–19NO1.1%20–21FR1.0%20–21NL0.9%22–25SG0.6%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.2% of the top 10%
Radar
16–32tied, of 411.1 papers of credit
1stCN77.0%16–32VN0.2%16–32SA0.2%16–32FR0.2%16–32DZ0.2%16–32PT0.2%
Institut de Recherche de l’École Navale0.1% of the top 10%
Supercapacitors
22–24tied, of 86
1stCN46.3%19–21SG0.5%19–21ZA0.5%22–24FR0.4%22–24CZ0.4%22–24PL0.4%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.1% of the top 10%
Cybersecurity
20–23tied, of 104
1stCN14.8%20–23BR0.8%20–23IQ0.8%20–23FR0.8%24thDZ0.7%25–28NG0.6%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.1% of the top 10%
Perovskite solar cells
24–28tied, of 76
1stCN53.9%21–23IR0.4%21–23MA0.4%24–28FR0.3%24–28IQ0.3%24–28MY0.3%
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique0.1% of the top 10%
Sonar and underwater acoustics
24–31tied, of 370.5 papers of credit
1stCN71.6%24–31IL0.2%24–31TW0.2%24–31FR0.1%24–31FI0.1%24–31EG0.1%
Université de Bourgogne0.0% of the top 10%
New antibiotics and antivirals
24–28tied, of 824.8 papers of credit
1stCN30.3%24–28MY0.7%24–28PT0.6%24–28FR0.6%24–28CH0.6%24–28PK0.6%
Inserm0.1% of the top 10%
Neighbours are the countries ranked just above and below. Ranks are shown as a range where shares are equal to one decimal place. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 18 October 2026. Method
Where France is in the top three
PilotEach paper sorted into one sub-area by an AI model reading its title and abstract, then credited as usual. On 200 hand-labelled papers it chose the same sub-area, or a defensible second, 92% of the time. Shown where the sub-area has at least 30 papers in the top 10% and the country at least five papers of credit.
- 3rdAtom interferometers, gravimeters and Rydberg-atom sensorsQuantum sensors, 34 papers; behind United States 29.4% and Germany 19.8%19.1%
- 3rdDivertor, plasma-wall interaction and power exhaustNuclear fusion, 99 papers; behind United States 21.0% and Germany 16.2%15.5%