Plan Calcul
Encyclopedia
Plan Calcul was a French governmental program to promote a national or European computer
industry and associated research activities.
The plan was approved in July 1966 by president Charles de Gaulle
, in the aftermath of two key events that made his government worry about French "computer sovereignty". First, the United States denied export licenses for American-made IBM
and CDC
computers to the French Commissariat à l'énergie atomique
in order to prevent it from perfecting its H bomb. Meanwhile, in 1964, General Electric
acquired 50% of the shares of Compagnie de Machines Bull
, the largest French computer manufacturer, which had the second highest market share in France, after IBM. Following this partial takeover, known as "Affaire Bull", GE-Bull dropped two Bull computers from its product line.
Responsibility for administering the plan was given to a newly created government agency, Délégation à l'informatique, answering directly to the prime minister.
As part of the program, in December 1966, the Compagnie internationale pour l'informatique (CII) was established as a manufacturer of commercial and scientific computers, initially under licence from Scientific Data Systems. The new company was intended to compete not only in the process control and military market, where its staff was already seasoned, but also in the office computing sector of the French market, where IBM and Bull were dominant at the time. The plan enacted government subsidies for CII between 1967 and 1971, and was reconducted for another four years. A minor side of the plan was devoted to peripherals, while CII's main parent company, Thomson-CSF, received government support to develop its semiconductor plants and R & D.
On the research side, the program also led to the creation of L'Institut de recherche en informatique et en automatique (IRIA) in 1967, which later became INRIA. It was accompanied with a vast educational effort in programming and computer science.
In the late 1960s, CII shipped its new, internally designed mainframes (Iris 50 and Iris 80), and developed a mini-computer, Mitra 15, which became a commercial success in the following decade. The company also produced competitive magnetic peripherals in cooperation with CDC
.
In 1971, CII began negotiations with Siemens and Philips to form a joint European company, Unidata, which shipped its first computers in 1974. Yet a new President of the Republic was elected then, former Finance minister Giscard d'Estaing, who was a strong opponent of the Plan Calcul; meanwhile, CII's sleeping partner, CGE-Alcatel, woke up to oppose the domination of its archrival Siemens over the European computer industry. Unidata was terminated and CII was absorbed into Honeywell-Bull in 1976.
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
industry and associated research activities.
The plan was approved in July 1966 by president Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, in the aftermath of two key events that made his government worry about French "computer sovereignty". First, the United States denied export licenses for American-made IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
and CDC
Control Data Corporation
Control Data Corporation was a supercomputer firm. For most of the 1960s, it built the fastest computers in the world by far, only losing that crown in the 1970s after Seymour Cray left the company to found Cray Research, Inc....
computers to the French Commissariat à l'énergie atomique
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique
The Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives or CEA, is a French “public establishment related to industrial and commercial activities” whose mission is to develop all applications of nuclear power, both civilian and military...
in order to prevent it from perfecting its H bomb. Meanwhile, in 1964, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
acquired 50% of the shares of Compagnie de Machines Bull
Groupe Bull
-External links:* * — Friends, co-workers and former employees of Bull and Honeywell* *...
, the largest French computer manufacturer, which had the second highest market share in France, after IBM. Following this partial takeover, known as "Affaire Bull", GE-Bull dropped two Bull computers from its product line.
Responsibility for administering the plan was given to a newly created government agency, Délégation à l'informatique, answering directly to the prime minister.
As part of the program, in December 1966, the Compagnie internationale pour l'informatique (CII) was established as a manufacturer of commercial and scientific computers, initially under licence from Scientific Data Systems. The new company was intended to compete not only in the process control and military market, where its staff was already seasoned, but also in the office computing sector of the French market, where IBM and Bull were dominant at the time. The plan enacted government subsidies for CII between 1967 and 1971, and was reconducted for another four years. A minor side of the plan was devoted to peripherals, while CII's main parent company, Thomson-CSF, received government support to develop its semiconductor plants and R & D.
On the research side, the program also led to the creation of L'Institut de recherche en informatique et en automatique (IRIA) in 1967, which later became INRIA. It was accompanied with a vast educational effort in programming and computer science.
In the late 1960s, CII shipped its new, internally designed mainframes (Iris 50 and Iris 80), and developed a mini-computer, Mitra 15, which became a commercial success in the following decade. The company also produced competitive magnetic peripherals in cooperation with CDC
Control Data Corporation
Control Data Corporation was a supercomputer firm. For most of the 1960s, it built the fastest computers in the world by far, only losing that crown in the 1970s after Seymour Cray left the company to found Cray Research, Inc....
.
In 1971, CII began negotiations with Siemens and Philips to form a joint European company, Unidata, which shipped its first computers in 1974. Yet a new President of the Republic was elected then, former Finance minister Giscard d'Estaing, who was a strong opponent of the Plan Calcul; meanwhile, CII's sleeping partner, CGE-Alcatel, woke up to oppose the domination of its archrival Siemens over the European computer industry. Unidata was terminated and CII was absorbed into Honeywell-Bull in 1976.