Just hours after launching its new program called Safe Place For Science for American researchers, which was created in response to the policies of the Trump administration, Aix Marseille University received its first application.
Since then, the university, located in southern France and known for its science programs, has been receiving around a dozen applications per day from what the school describes as “scientific asylum” seekers.
Other universities in France and across Europe have also moved quickly to offer refuge to American researchers who are fleeing the severe cuts to jobs and programs under the Trump administration, as well as perceived attacks on entire fields of research.
This is not only about individual jobs, but also the protection of free scientific inquiry, according to university presidents. They are acting quickly to fill significant gaps in collective research, particularly in areas targeted by the Trump administration, such as climate change studies, public health, environmental science, and gender and diversity research.
If this becomes a broader trend, it could potentially reverse the long-standing brain drain that has seen many scientists move to the United States. While some Europeans have pointed out that the changes in the U.S. present a unique opportunity to build stronger research centers in Europe, most academics say that competition is not their immediate motivation.
“This program is ultimately a response to indignation, to declare that what is happening in the U.S. is not normal,” said Éric Berton, president of Aix Marseille University, which has allocated 15 million euros (around $16.3 million) to fund 15 three-year positions.
Berton added that the number of openings may not be large, but the goal is to “offer a little hope” to researchers.
Aix Marseille University is considered a leader in the initiative to bring American researchers to France.
Since the program’s launch, a cancer research foundation in Paris pledged 3.5 million euros to welcome American cancer researchers. Additionally, two universities in Paris recently announced that they were offering positions to American scientists whose work had been cut or halted due to the Trump administration’s policies.
“We are researchers. We want to continue our work at the highest level in fields that are being attacked in the U.S.,” said El Mouhoub Mouhoud, president of Université Paris Sciences et Lettres. The university plans to welcome 15 researchers already working on joint projects in fields such as climate science, health, humanities, and gender studies, ensuring these projects continue uninterrupted while American researchers enjoy “academic freedom.”
This response comes as the Trump administration began making drastic cuts to science-related jobs and freezing research grants as part of its overall cost-cutting measures. These cuts have been announced regularly at U.S. institutions known for their scientific achievements, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest funder of biomedical research globally, laid off 1,200 employees and put grant reviews on hold, effectively halting government funding for research across the country. At the same time, certain federal agencies removed terms from their websites and grant applications that were deemed unacceptable to the Trump administration, such as “climate science,” “diversity,” and “gender.”
These actions have caused a chill across academic and research institutions, leaving scientists concerned not only about their jobs but also about the long-term viability of their research.
“What we see today is censorship, censorship of fundamental values,” said Yasmine Belkaid, president of the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Belkaid moved to France last year after 30 years in the U.S., where she had led the NIH’s Center for Human Immunology. “We could lose a generation of science, a generation of scientists, something we cannot recover from,” she added. “It is our collective duty to protect science.”
Philippe Baptiste, the French minister of higher education and research, has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s actions. Baptiste, who previously led the French National Center for Space Studies, described the Trump administration’s decisions as “collective madness” that required a swift and robust response from countries worldwide. He pointed out that many programs, especially those involving earth observation, climate, ecology, health data, and space exploration, are jointly managed with the U.S., and these efforts could be jeopardized.
Baptiste is working with the presidents of French universities to create a government program and has also advocated for a European response, including drafting a letter, signed by ministers from 11 other European countries, calling for coordinated efforts and funding from the European Commission for research and innovation.
In response, more than 350 scientists published a petition in Le Monde, urging the European Commission to establish an emergency fund of 750 million euros to support researchers affected by the U.S. cuts.
A European Commission spokesperson, Nika Blazevic, confirmed that a meeting was being planned to discuss the most effective response to the U.S. cuts.
In Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Université Libre de Bruxelles announced plans to offer 36 postdoctoral positions to international researchers, largely funded by the EU. These positions will focus on climate, artificial intelligence, and other important social issues.
In the Netherlands, Education Minister Eppo Bruins announced plans to establish a fund to attract leading scientists from various fields. While he did not mention Trump directly, he acknowledged the changing geopolitical climate and its impact on scientific mobility, stressing that the Netherlands must remain a leader in this area.
Ulrike Malmendier, a German economist and member of Germany’s leading economic council, suggested that European governments should increase investments in science to attract displaced researchers from the U.S. Malmendier, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, sees the situation as a huge opportunity for Europe to strengthen its scientific base.