‘Choose Europe!’: Macron invites scientists to work in France amid US funding cuts

French President Emmanuel Macron invited scientists from all over the world to come work in France or Europe, as US President Donald Trump's new administration has started slashing funding for universities and research bodies.

Macron did not mention the US, where hundreds of scientists have been dismissed in cutbacks to research that come amid a broader clash between Trump and Ivy League universities.

"Here in France, research is a priority, innovation a culture, science a limitless horizon. Researchers from all over the world, choose France, choose Europe!" Macron said in a post on X.

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Trump administration officials point to the wave of pro-Palestinian protests on campuses last year as a rationale for its demands of the universities. However, critics among faculty and student groups say the measures are designed to chill speech and that campuses should be a place for freedom of expression and academic thought.

The threat to academics' livelihoods at US universities has given Europe's political leaders hope they could reap an intellectual windfall.

France on Friday announced the "Choose France for Science" platform, operated by the French National Research Agency (ANR), which will enable universities, schools, and research organisations to apply for co-funding from the government to host researchers.

The initiative will on May 5 launch a dedicated platform for applications to host international researchers, the government said on a new website.

"France is committed to standing up to attacks on academic freedom across the globe," ANR said in a statement.

It added that "the international context" was creating the conditions for an unprecedented wave of mobility among researchers worldwide, and that France intends to position itself as a welcoming place for those wishing to pursue their work in Europe.

Harvard vs Trump: Battle for the classroom

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ANR said the platform would allow universities to submit projects to host international researchers, especially in areas including health research, climate and biodiversity, artificial intelligence, space studies, agriculture, low-carbon energy and digital systems.

The announcement comes a day after officials said that the first researchers fleeing US spending cuts imposed by Trump will start work at a French university in June.

Aix Marseille University said its "Safe Place for Science" scheme received a flood of applicants after announcing in March it would open its doors to US scientists threatened by cuts.

University president Eric Berton said he wanted to see a new status of "refugee scientist" be created, and for more US researchers to be welcomed in France and Europe.

Read more'Deplorable': French scientist denied US entry over text messages criticising Trump

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)