Training and Careers of French Mathematicians: A Typical Model of Excellence?[Formations et carrières mathématiques en France : un modèle typique d'excellence ?]

The excellence of French mathematics has long been recognized. This remarkable position is explained by certain classical factors, such as the selective tests for training and talent recruitment, but their effect is more precocious and cumulative than in the other sciences. The culture of playful and competitive challenge that nourishes the history of conjecture and problem solving, in this individualistic discipline detached from empirical work, has its organizational side : competition for jobs is more open and opposed to inbreeding, and the advantage initially gained through pure research jobs is not systematically exploited to keep the best mathematicians away from teaching. These traits adhere as a system, but do they also act to create competitive dynamics that penalize female careers, which are particularly under-represented ? Our analysis is based on a vast corpus of career and publication data, which is unparalleled to date.