The offer launched by a French university is generating interest among American researchers, amidst the Trump administration’s crackdown on the academic environment.
Almost 300 academics have applied to the Aix-Marseille University offer to host researchers from the US affected by the American government’s crackdown on the academic environment, as reported by The Guardian.
Aix-Marseille in France is among the first universities in Europe to react to the punitive executive orders triggered by Donald Trump's administration against higher education institutions in the US.
The French university offers, through a program entitled Safe Place for Science, a kind of "scientific asylum," providing three years of funding for approximately 20 researchers to conduct their activities freely in this institution.
Requests Sent via Encrypted Messaging
On Thursday, the university stated that it received 298 requests in a month, of which 242 were deemed eligible.
The applicants come from institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, NASA, Columbia, Yale, and Stanford, as mentioned in a statement.
Most requests were sent through encrypted messaging, mentioned the university president, Eric Berton, in the French newspaper Libération.
Most of the candidates are experienced researchers in various fields, from humanities to life sciences and the environment, according to the French university. Just over half of the eligible applicants, 135, are Americans, while 45 are dual citizens.
Not only American researchers have requested scientific asylum, but also French, European, Indian, and Brazilian citizens.
The selection process will begin in the coming days to allow researchers to start arriving at the beginning of June.
Bill Proposal for Scientific Refugee Status
François Hollande, former President of France and current socialist deputy, recently joined forces with Berton to urge French authorities to grant researchers worldwide targeted by reprisals the status of refugees.
"Just like expressing divergent opinions, their work, which is a source of innovation and knowledge, has become a risk for the propaganda of regimes," the two wrote in Libération.
Researchers, like journalists or political opponents, should be able to qualify for protection, they argued. "Indeed, current asylum mechanisms do not take into account the specific nature of the academic environment and the threats faced by scientists under authoritarian regimes," they wrote. "That is why we make an urgent, situation-appropriate request: the creation of a 'scientific refugee' status."
France Opens Up, America Closes In
Hollande supported his call on Monday with legislative actions. In a bill submitted to the French parliament, he proposed that scientists facing attacks on their academic freedom be eligible for subsidiary protection - a category reserved for asylum seekers who do not meet the conditions for refugee status but can demonstrate facing serious threats.
Subsidiary protection would allow for a faster and more efficient processing of these researchers, as officials could establish clear eligibility criteria and identify ways for them to continue their research, as advocated by the former French president.
Hollande described the bill that needs to be approved by parliament as a response to a historic moment. "It is a symbolic way to show that France is an open country at a time when the United States is closing in on itself and authoritarian regimes pursue aggressive, repressive policies," he told France Inter.
"It's about rediscovering the France of the Enlightenment era, the one that was once able to welcome persecuted researchers from around the world," he added.
T.D.