Since taking office, the Trump administration has targeted numerous scientific and academic institutions. Measures have included drastic funding cuts, arbitrary dismissals, and the elimination of research grants in areas considered ideologically sensitive: climate change, gender studies, minority studies, and critical history. In response, several universities, including Harvard, have filed lawsuits, notably to protest a federal budget cut of more than two billion dollars.
Faced with this situation, Aix-Marseille University decided to take action. Its Safe Place for Science program, supported by a €15 million budget from the AMIDEX Foundation dedicated to experimental and innovative actions, has received more than 300 applications, including from renowned researchers affiliated with Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley, and even NASA. Eric Berton, President of Aix-Marseille, explained the implementation of the program: “This is about providing scientific asylum to all these colleagues who are being hindered, dismissed, or whose funding has been cut. Out of solidarity, but also because what happens over there affects our research,” he said, adding that he is “proud that the initiative is meeting such success.”
The candidate selection process involves several stages. An initial review of applications is followed by interviews to assess not only academic excellence and the relevance of proposed projects, but also the hosting capacity of partner laboratories. Special attention is given to researchers whose current situation in the United States makes continuing their work impossible.
The 20 selected fellows will be offered a three-year renewable contract starting in mid-June. They will also receive research funding of up to €600,000 to support their projects, doctoral students, or laboratory equipment.
Andrea, an American researcher who asked to remain anonymous, was interviewed by Le Monde during a visit to the Aix-Marseille campus. She described the deterioration of her working conditions. A specialist in the effects of climate change on infectious diseases affecting women and children, she faces multiple vulnerabilities: a politically sensitive field, threatened funding, and growing administrative pressure. Her partner, a French-American postdoctoral fellow at NASA, also spoke of “an atmosphere of extreme tension” and lamented the dismissal of his supervisor, the freezing of credit cards, and a hiring freeze.
Beyond Aix-Marseille, the program has sparked national awareness. On April 17, former President François Hollande, now a member of Parliament, submitted a bill to the National Assembly to establish a legal status of asylum for foreign researchers threatened in their home countries. The proposed legislation would grant specific asylum rights “in cases of serious violations of academic freedom.” Eric Berton emphasized the need to institutionalize programs like the one at Aix-Marseille: “We are witnessing a new brain drain. We will do everything in our power to help as many scientists as possible continue their research. However, we cannot meet all demands on our own. The Ministry of Education and Research is fully supporting and assisting us in this effort, which is intended to expand at both national and European levels.”
Follow the comments:
|
