Macron invites American scientists dissatisfied with Trump’s policies to move to Europe
French President Emmanuel Macron called on American scientists dissatisfied with Donald Trump’s policies to move to Europe. About this informs Bloomberg.
“If you love freedom, come and do your research here. No one would have thought that this great democracy, whose economic model relies so heavily on free science and innovation, would make such a mistake.”, — Macron said during a speech at the Sorbonne at a conference called “Choose Europe for Science.”
According to him, Paris will allocate 100 million euros to attract scientists within the investment program “France 2030”. Even before the French president’s speech, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the EU aims to make the move of leading scientists to Europe easier and more attractive. She announced that in 2025-2027, the European Union will allocate 500 million euros for a “stimulus package” to make Europe a “magnet for researchers”.
Yasmin Belcade, director of the Institut Pasteur, told La Tribune Dimanche in March that she receives daily requests from European scientists who work in the United States and want to return home, as well as from American researchers who are no longer sure they can work freely in the United States.
Other leading European research institutions, including ETH Zurich and the Helmholtz Association, Germany’s largest scientific organization, also reported an increase in requests from US scientists.
The proposal to move to Europe applies not only to those already working in the USA, but also to scientists from all over the world who are looking for an alternative to the planned trip to the States, said the head of the communications department of the Helmholtz Society, Sebastian Grote.
According to a Nature survey conducted through March, 75% of respondents (more than 1,200 scientists) said they were considering leaving the US. Among the main destinations to which they are willing to move, respondents most often mentioned Canada and European countries.
