Posted: Sun, Oct 27, 2002, 11:03 AM ET (1603 GMT)
The French government plans to create a commission to examine the CNES space agency after many of the agency's employees called for the resignation of its president. Space News reported Friday that Claudie Haignere, a former astronaut who is now the French minister of research, has established a commission to study the current status of CNES and report back to her in two months. The move comes after a gathering of up to 500 employees, about 20 percent of CNES's workforce, gave CNES president Alain Bensoussan an overwhelming vote of no confidence. The employees said that Bensoussan's current strategy is "leading to the downfall of CNES." The French government recently decided to cut CNES's budget for 2003, putting into question the agency's plans for future Mars missions.

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