The French Stimulus Initiative project “Breedwheat” was launched in Clermont-Ferrand (France) on September 29th, 2011, in the presence of Laurent Wauquiez, Minister of Higher Education and Research, and Marion Guillou, President of INRA. The project aims at strengthening the competitiveness of the French breeding sector while addressing the societal demand for sustainability, quality and safety. Bringing together 26 partners from the public and private research and breeding sectors, it has a total budget of €34 million for 9 years.