Conference
Report on the conference "Scientists and citizens: committed to society"
On Wednesday December 10, 2025, sixty years to the day after Jacques Monod, François Jacob and André Lwoff were awarded the Nobel Prize in Stockholm, Sweden, the conference "Scientists and citizens: committed to society" was held to celebrate the political and societal engagement of these three towering figures in the Institut Pasteur's history. The event, part of the "Mission Libération" series, attracted 288 participants, including several members of the Monod and Jacob families.
Three sessions were held, alternating between personal reflections and round tables led by researchers in humanities and social sciences and scientists from the Institut Pasteur and the Pasteur Network. The day was moderated by journalist and historian Nicolas Chevassus-au-Louis, author of La guerre des bactéries, une histoire de l'Institut Pasteur sous l'Occupation, published in 2023.
To listen to the three sessions, click on the links below:
Session 1: François Jacob, André Lwoff and Jacques Monod at the end of the war
This first session was introduced by a personal account from Maxime Schwartz, who knew the three Nobel laureates. The round table presented the original historical research by Géraud Létang, Raphaëlle Balu and Claire Miot on the involvement of Jacob, Lwoff and Monod in the Resistance movement against German occupation.
Session 2: Pasteur in the world: network, centers and peripheries
Contributions by Laure Humbert, Marie-Luce Desgrandchamps and Claire Fredj presented the cities that served as capitals of Free France: Brazzaville, where the Order of Liberation was founded in August 1940 (Institut Pasteur scientist François Jacob served as the final Chancellor of the Order of Liberation), then Algiers from 1943. Noël Tordo and Rebecca Grais discussed the achievements and legacy of Institut Pasteur member institutes based overseas, now grouped together in the Pasteur Network. These discussions were introduced with an address by Anne-Marie Moulin.
Session 3: Female scientists: emerging from the laboratory shadows to fight for global health
The Bobigny trial in 1972 was a key stage in the movement that led to the legalization of abortion two years later, a right now enshrined in the French constitution. The testimony by François Jacob and Jacques Monod at the Bobigny trial is another example of their social engagement. Sandra Legout, Jean-Charles Foucrier and Charles-Antoine Wanecq gave a presentation about female scientists at the Institut Pasteur who have been forgotten or remained in the shadows. Aude Bernheim gave an introductory address about the difference that committed female scientists can make to society today.
