News

Major dates in May 2026

At the Collège de France, lectures are open to all, with no conditions of access or prior registration, subject to availability.

Hommes préhistoriques fuyant un mammouth

Exhibition

Prehistory: between utopia and reality

The Collège de France's major exhibition "Prehistory: Between Utopia and Reality" invites us to come face-to-face with our most distant ancestors, between what we know about them... and what it says about us. A journey at the crossroads of science and the imaginary, to rediscover what prehistory actually tells us about ourselves yesterday, today and tomorrow..

The exhibition is free and open to all, with a catalog and children's book, free mediation for schoolchildren and a series of free lectures.

From April 29 to July 19, 2026 at the Collège de France, Marcelin Berthelot site (11, place Marcelin-Berthelot, 75005 Paris.).

Find out more about the exhibition

Special events

Le futur en héritage (2026)

As part of its commitment to a common sustainable future, the Collège de France is offering a series of round-table discussions bringing together leading figures from the worlds of academia, business, associations and institutions, and students from higher education.

Conceived as a space for structured dialogue, this second edition of the "Le future en héritage" cycle aims to enable younger generations to question, understand and debate the major issues surrounding climate change. It is part of a process of transmitting knowledge, but also of active listening and co-construction. The Collège de France acts as guarantor and facilitator, ensuring the scientific quality of exchanges.

May 5, 13, 19 and 28* from 6.30pm to 8pm at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Maurice Halbwachs amphitheatre).

*The last lecture in the series will take place on June 3, 2026.

Find out more about the "Le future en héritage (2026)" event

Prehistory: between utopia and reality" lectures

To extend the discovery of the "Prehistory: between utopia and reality" exhibition, five free lectures are offered to the public, with no need to book.

May 7 and 29* from 6pm to 7pm at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Maurice Halbwachs amphitheatre).

*The next lectures in the series will take place on June 3, 9 and 17, 2026.

Colloques

Socialism and liberal egalitarianism: a necessary dialogue

Colloquium organized by Lea Ypi, visiting professor at The Invention of Europe through languages andcultures Annual Chair .

This symposium explores an essential dialogue between two major traditions of contemporary political thought: socialism and liberal egalitarianism. Both aim to reduce inequalities and promote social justice, but differ on the means and principles that should guide this transformation. This symposium brings together philosophers, economists and political theorists to examine how these two approaches can complement and enrich each other.

May 15 at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Maurice Halbwachs amphitheatre).

Find out more about the symposium

The evolution of developmental mechanisms

Conference organized by Prof. Denis Duboule, holder of the Evolution of Development and GenomesChair .

Over the past thirty years, with the emergence of genome sequencing, the link between these mechanisms and our DNA has materialized, opening up a new field of study that seeks to find the basis of these evolutionary changes in our genetic material. This year's symposium takes stock of these advances, with some outstanding examples.

May 21 at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Guillaume Budé amphitheatre).

Find out more about the symposium

Electronic Transfer II

Conference organized by Louis Fensterbank, Professor of Activations in Molecular Chemistry.

Transfert Electronique II" will provide a broad overview of advances in the field of single-electron transfer in molecular chemistry.

May 21 at Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Maurice Halbwachs amphitheater).

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Symbioses: from plant/microbe mutualism to the symbiotic economy and cooperation

Conference organized by Claude Grison, Visiting Professor at the Avenir Commun Durable Annual Chair.

Life is animated by a secret life of encounters, interactions and associations that are sometimes unsuspected. These biotic interactions can be beneficial, ineffective or harmful. The colloquium will present a few concrete examples to illustrate the importance of these interactions for Living Things, particularly when subjected to the stresses imposed on them. Secondly, it will be shown how this association became the starting point for the restoration of a severely degraded soil. The results of this ecological restoration are at the origin of a new symbiotic type of economy: the recreated ecosystem generates a valuable mineral resource that is valorized according to the concept of ecocatalysis. This beneficial association between human activity and Nature generates a regenerative economy capable of replacing the extractive model.

May 26 at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Guillaume Budé amphitheatre).

Find out more about the symposium

Towards a functional landscape ecology for a resilient and sustainable future

Conference organized by Sandra Lavorel, Visiting Professor at the Biodiversity and Ecosystems Annual Chair.

This colloquium will bring together researchers specializing in functional ecology, landscape ecology and genetics, and sustainability science to discuss the latest knowledge on the mechanisms linking landscape structure, biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions, and how they can be mobilized to create and govern territorial trajectories towards a resilient and sustainable future.

May 27 at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Mireille Delmas-Marty amphitheatre).

Find out more about the symposium

Earth, a dynamic planet: a tribute to Xavier Le Pichon

Conference organized by Professors Edouard Bard, holder of the Climate and Ocean EvolutionChair , and Alessandro Morbidelli, holder of the Planetary Formation: from Earth to Exoplanets Chair.

May 28 and 29 at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Marguerite de Navarre amphitheatre).

Find out more about the symposium

Paul Casanova, Egypt and the Koran

Colloquium organized by Professor François Déroche, holder of the History of the Koranchair . Text and transmission.

May 28 at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Maurice Halbwachs amphitheatre).

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Oxidative Stress in Cancer-Therapy Response

Conference organized by Professor Hugues de Thé, Chair of Cellular and Molecular Oncology.

May 29 at Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Guillaume Budé amphitheatre).

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Mental Health and Addiction: Understanding Determinants to Improve Population Well-Being

Conference organized by Maria Melchior, Public Health Annual ChairVisiting Professor .

This symposium will explore mental health and addiction factors, focusing on social determinants, via multidisciplinary studies to improve well-being and reduce addictions on a large scale.

May 29 at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Mireille Delmas-Marty amphitheatre).

Find out more about the symposium

Guest speakers

The Longue Durée: Economic History and the Rise of Prosperity in the Modern Age

Series of three lectures by Joel Mokyr, invited by the Collège de France assembly at the suggestion of Professor Philippe Aghion, holder of the Economics of Institutions, Innovation and Growthchair .

May 4, 11 and 15, 2026 at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site).

Find out more about conferences

P-adic D modules and the p-adic Langlands program

Cycle of four lectures by Juan Esteban Rodríguez Camargo, winner of the Peccot lecture for 2025-2026.

Since 1885, thanks to an endowment from the family of mathematician Claude-Antoine Peccot, every year the Collège de France has rewarded young mathematicians under the age of 30, inviting them to give a series of lectures at the Collège de France.

May 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2026 from 10am to 12pm at the Collège de France (site Marcelin Berthelot, salle 2).

Touraj Daryaee

Cycle of four lectures by Touraj Daryaee, invited by the Collège de France assembly at the suggestion of Professor Frantz Grenet, holder of the History and Cultures of Pre-Islamic Central Asiachair . Lectures are in English.

May 7, 12, 21 and 28, 2026 from 5pm to 6:30pm at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Mireille Delmas-Marty amphitheater).

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Mean Field Games and Some Applications

Cycle of four lectures by Panagiotis Souganidis, invited by the Collège de France assembly at the suggestion of Professor Pierre-Louis Lions, holder of the Partial Differential Equations and Applicationschair .

May 13, 12 and 29* 2026 from 11am to 12pm at the Collège de France (site Marcelin Berthelot, salle 2).

*The last lecture of the cycle will take place on June 5, 2026.

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Trashification

Lecture given by Juliana Uhuru Bidadanure, invited by the Collège de France assembly at the suggestion of Professor Samantha Besson, holder of the International Law of InstitutionsChair .

May 19, 2026 from 5pm to 6pm at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Mireille Delmas-Marty amphitheater).

Find out more about the conference

More than Just Peace

Lecture given by Michael Doyle, invited by the Collège de France assembly at the suggestion of Professor Samantha Besson, holder of the International Law of InstitutionsChair .

May 21, 2026 from 11am to 12pm at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Mireille Delmas-Marty amphitheater).

Find out more about the conference

Changing Biblical Interpretation?

A series of two lectures by Louis Jonker, invited by the Collège de France assembly at the suggestion of Professor Thomas Römer, holder of the Chair of The Hebrew Bible and its Contexts. The lectures are in English.

May 26* from 4pm to 5pm at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Mireille Delmas-Marty amphitheatre).

*The second lecture in the series will take place on June 1, 2026.

Find out more about conferences

Determinism and stochasticity in neural development lecture series

Series of four lectures by Claude Desplan, invited by the Collège de France assembly at the suggestion of Professor Denis Duboule, holder of the Evolution of Development and GenomesChair .

May 28* from 4pm to 5pm at the Collège de France (Marcelin Berthelot site, Guillaume Budé amphitheatre).

*The next lectures in the series will take place on June 4, 11 and 18, 2026.