The French government will invest an additional 100 million euros to attract foreign scientific researchers, especially American ones "who are at risk" as the US government of Donald Trump cuts science funding and restricts visas for scientists, President Emmanuel Macron said today.
Macron, speaking at a conference at Paris' Sorbonne University, condemned "the dictate of any government that 'it is forbidden to research this or that area,'" whether it is about "women's health, cyclones or climate."
"No one could have imagined that this great democracy (the United States), whose economic model depends so much on free science, would make such a mistake," Macron said, criticizing Trump's policies toward scientists but without naming him.
The French president added that Europe, faced with threats, should become a refuge and appealed to "all free minds who want to work for science and defend the model" of Europe.
"Without free science, we lose what is at the very heart of Western liberal democracies," Macron said.
The aim is to "enable researchers from all over the world who believe in free science, open to all, to come to Europe and be able to work, research and teach there, they and their families, in complete freedom," the president added.
An additional 100 million euros of public money to "co-finance employment in French institutions" will be financed by a reserve from the "France 2030" public investment program, the Elysee Palace said.
"This will require the commitment of the private sector and certain local authorities to support this co-financing," the French presidency added.
The "Choose France for Science" online platform, launched by the government on April 18, has already received more than 30.000 inquiries, a third of which are from the United States, Macron said, adding that the platform operates in 157 countries.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced today in Paris that the EU will propose to attract top scientific researchers with 500 million euros from 2025-2027.
"The role of science is now being called into question. Investment in basic research, free and open, is being called into question. What a huge error in judgment... science is the key to our future here in Europe," von der Leyen said, indirectly criticizing the US at the closing of the "Choose Europe for Science" conference.
The aim of the conference in Paris, initiated by Macron, was to attract scientists from the US, whose research work is under threat due to Trump's policies.
Praising "stable and sustainable investments" and a research-friendly infrastructure in Europe, Ursula von der Leyen announced measures to make up for the shortcomings, citing a new "super subsidy" lasting seven years, as well as a doubling of the research budget by 2027.
"We want to reach the target of three percent of GDP for investment in research and development by 2030 with our EU member states," she said.
To facilitate the arrival of researchers, she said, the EU wants to help public and private institutions get closer to highly qualified workers and researchers and to speed up and simplify their immigration to the EU.
"Bringing the world's best researchers means the best for Europe," said Von der Leyen.
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