[The French School of Public Health (FSPH): I. General perspectives].

FSPH is based on the foundations of the 45-year-old National School of Public Health Administration (ENSP), located in Rennes (Brittany) on a 22-acre campus. The annual budget is 55 milion euros, which is only partly adequate for FSPH missions and objectives. What is currently needed, in addition to ENSP is a high-level academic establishment. It has been argued that France lacks the research resources and funding necessary to hold a leading international position in public health research and expertise. About 85% of international scientific papers published by French teams in the field of public health are produced by Inserm (the French equivalent of NIH) and university hospitals, which are mainly located in Paris. It is proposed to initially network and reinforce existing forces, in close collaboration with top-level institutions in the French capital. This series of three papers proposes to establish a dynamic in two domains: (i) risk analysis and regulation, and (ii) prevention and screening in public health. FSPH will be grounded on scientific excellence, French-English bilingual training, openness to Europe and North America, worldwide notoriety, and collaboration with top-flight academic and research institutions, hospitals, and the private sector.