After a summer in which “mosquitoes and zoonoses,” “budget priorities and guidelines,” and “geopolitics and globalization” regularly made headlines, the start of the new academic year is an opportunity for Yasmine Belkaid to take a look at and speak out on these issues, which have a major impact on and mobilize the Pasteurian community.

The President of the Institut Pasteur spoke with journalist Yann Verdo, science journalist at Les Échos, and David Barroux, head of the Les Échos newsroom. Throughout the article, Yasmine Belkaid discusses the health threat posed by the tiger mosquito and pandemic preparedness since Covid-19. She also addresses the specific geopolitical context related to the US administration and the negative consequences for research on a global scale. Yasmine Belkaid also answers questions about research funding in France, particularly for Pasteurian science. Vaccines and mirror biology are also among the topics addressed in the interview.

Read the interview with Yasmine Belkaid in Les Échos on September 5, 2025

In addition, Yasmine Belkaid and several researchers from Institut Pasteur (Arnaud Fontanet, Lluis Quintana-Murci, Philippe Sansonetti) signed an open letter this morning initiated by Sibyle Veil, President of Radio France, calling for freedom of knowledge and the fight against scientific populism as it is unfolding before our eyes in the United States and around the world.

To read the opinion piece and sign the appeal, click here.