Nearly 300 U.S.-based academics have applied to a new program in France offering what many are calling “scientific asylum,” as Europe steps up efforts to attract researchers rattled by the Trump administration’s cuts to academic funding and increased political pressure.
France and the European Union are rolling out new initiatives to welcome scientists and researchers looking to leave the United States.
French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to announce new incentives and protections for relocating academics during an event at Sorbonne University.
“We are a space where there is freedom of research and no taboo topics,” an official from Macron’s office said, adding that France and Europe aim to present themselves as stable and supportive homes for academic inquiry.
Europe Makes Its Move
The EU campaign, titled Choose Europe for Science, follows mounting concerns from academics about deep federal funding cuts and what they see as targeted attacks on diversity and inclusion in U.S. higher education.
France launched its own Choose France for Science initiative in April, including a dedicated platform to support international researchers.
One of the most active programs so far has been at Aix-Marseille University, which created the Safe Place for Science program to offer three years of funding to about 20 researchers.
The university received 298 applications in a single month, with 242 deemed eligible.
Applicants came from prestigious institutions such as Yale, Stanford, NASA, Johns Hopkins and Columbia.
“With them came worrying, sometimes chilling, accounts from American researchers about the fate reserved for them by the Trump administration,” said Eric Berton, president of Aix-Marseille University, in Libération, as reported by The Guardian.
More than half of the applicants were American, with others holding dual nationality or hailing from countries including Brazil, India, and several in Europe.
A Push for “Scientific Refugee” Status
Former French President François Hollande, now a member of parliament, is pushing for the creation of a “scientific refugee” status to protect researchers around the world whose academic freedoms are under threat.
He argues that they should qualify for protections similar to those offered to journalists or political dissidents.
In a bill introduced to France’s National Assembly, Hollande proposed that researchers facing persecution or suppression of their work be granted subsidiary protection status—a legal category for those who don’t meet traditional refugee criteria but are still at risk.
“If they are interrupted, hindered, prevented, it will be a step backwards for humanity,” Hollande told broadcaster France Inter.
He described the bill as a necessary step in response to rising authoritarianism: “It’s about rediscovering the France of the Enlightenment, the one that in other times was capable of welcoming persecuted researchers from all over the world.”
Challenges and Opportunities
Despite the momentum, challenges remain. Europe has long lagged behind the U.S. in research investment, especially when it comes to salaries and job security.
French academics often face lower pay and more precarious contracts than their American counterparts. French trade unions continue to call for better salaries and working conditions.
Still, many believe the timing is right for a shift.
CNRS, France’s top scientific research center, recently launched a new initiative to welcome foreign researchers whose work is under threat.
Some French scientists working in the U.S. have expressed a desire to return, citing concerns about raising families in today’s political climate.
Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, recently called the situation in the U.S. a “huge opportunity” for Europe, noting that American researchers are actively reaching out to European institutions.
With Trump’s policies causing uncertainty across U.S. academia, Europe sees an opening, and it’s moving quickly to fill it.