A rare decision to revoke the doctorate of one of France’s most famous science communicators after an investigation found evidence of plagiarism has fuelled calls for greater transparency in how universities investigate research misconduct and communicate their findings.
Etienne Klein, the author of numerous science books who hosted a popular radio show, had his doctorate revoked by Université Paris Cité after an investigation found extensive plagiarism in his 1999 doctoral dissertation in philosophy of science, according to local media reports.
Klein, the director of research at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), has also been banned from enrolling in doctoral programmes.
The case emerged after journalists at investigative outlet Arrêt sur images began manually reviewing Klein’s doctoral thesis and found evidence of plagiarism in 20 per cent of it, with text copied from authors like Albert Camus. The university then launched its own investigation.
According to the outlet, the university’s inquiry discovered instances of plagiarism in about two-thirds of the pages after a 20-month review process that concluded in November 2025. The university has not made the report public.
