Emmanuel Macron invited, this Friday, April 18, the researchers “around the world” to “choose France” and Europe this Friday, April 18, by giving them “meet them on May 5”, in an attempt to attract the American research sector threatened by Donald Trump’s policy.
“Here in France, research is a priority, innovation a culture, science a limitless horizon,” assured the French president On the social network X. According to his entourage, he will bring together on May 5 “the large community of research”, for a meeting with still vague contours. At the same time, the government launched a platform called “Choose France for Science” on Thursday, presented in a press release as “a first step to prepare for the reception of international researchers”.
An opportunity for France
Since the return of Donald Trump to the White House in January, researchers and universities have been in the crosshairs of his government and have been afraid for their future, between academic freedoms and mine research, sanded funding. More and more researchers or aspiring researchers are therefore reflecting to leave the country, which has so far considered as the research paradise in many areas.
In France, the Minister in charge of Higher Education and Research, Philippe Baptiste, asked universities in early March to phosphorize to means to welcome them. “While the international context today creates the conditions for an unprecedented vague mobility among researchers around the world, France intends to position itself as a place of reception for those who would like to continue their work in Europe, based on the ecosystem and research infrastructure of our country,” said Philippe Baptiste, with the Minister of Education Elisabeth Borne and the General for Investment Bruno Bonnell Thursday.
Several projects
The platform they put online aims to identify the “reception projects of international researchers ready to come and settle in Europe” mounted by universities, schools and research organizations. The research themes of these projects must include around health, climate and biodiversity, digital and artificial intelligence, space or agriculture. “Each reception project funded by the institutions with, if necessary local authorities and the private sector, will be able to give rise to a supplement of state funding via France 2030 which can reach up to 50 % of the total amount of the project,” added the government.
The University of Aix-Marseille (AMU), which launched an appeal to American researchers in early March, announced Thursday that the first researchers will arrive in early June. Amu initiated the program “Safe Place for Science” with the plan to allocate an envelope of 600 to 800,000 euros per researcher over three years.
In parallel, a bill ambitioning to create a specific status of “scientific refugee” to enable American researchers threatened by the Trump administration to France was filed on Monday by former French president François Hollande, which became a deputy.