Open access : l'Université de Nantes recule devant auteurs et éditeurs

From Google's English:  "On August 1, 2024, the administrative court recognized that the University of Nantes had renounced requiring researchers to publish their work in open access. This decision follows a joint mobilization of the Syndicat national de l'édition (SNE) and the Société des Gens de Lettres (SGDL), which opposed this policy of the institution, judging it incompatible with the principles of copyright and academic freedom.

In May 2021, the University of Nantes introduced an obligation to deposit research work in an open archive, accompanied by the integration of these deposits into the evaluation criteria for researchers and allocations to laboratories.

This university decision went beyond the legal framework of open science as defined by article L. 533-4 of the research code, thus infringing on the copyright and academic freedom of teacher-researchers.

Faced with this situation, Philippe Forest, a professor at the University of Nantes, also a novelist and essayist, filed an appeal in 2022 before the administrative court. This appeal subsequently received the support of the SGDL and the SNE.

On August 1, 2024, through an order, the administrative court approved the revision of the University of Nantes' action plan for open science, taking into account the need to review its policy for depositing scientific publications."