"Choose France for Science": CNRS launches its program to attract threatened researchers to France, particularly in the United States

The first contacts reflect a "small surge" which concerns " the vast majority of non-Americans" , Antoine Petit, CEO of the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), explained to AFP.

The organization, the leading research organization in Europe with 34,000 employees, is welcoming "colleagues who are currently unable to do research," but also expatriate French researchers, some of whom "do not want to live and raise their children in Trump's United States," he says.

This initiative, called "Choose CNRS", follows that launched by the executive with the announcement in mid-April of a "Choose France for science" platform .

"Foreign researchers have already arrived in France to familiarize themselves with the infrastructure while awaiting the establishment of funds and the platform," the Ministry of Research said.

These programs follow Emmanuel Macron's announcement of a conference in Paris for the research community, scheduled for Monday.

Entitled "Choose science choose Europe", the event, which will be attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, aims to convey "at a time when academic freedom is experiencing a number of setbacks or threats, that Europe is a continent of attractiveness" , according to the Elysée.

A pioneer of this movement since March with its "Safe place for science" program , Aix-Marseille University will welcome its first researchers in June.

Since Donald Trump's return to the White House in January, researchers and universities have been in his government's crosshairs and fear for their future, with academic and research freedoms being undermined and funding cuts being slashed.

Sinews of war

With its initiative, the CNRS, which usually recruits a third of non-French researchers each year in its traditional competitions, is targeting four audiences.

First, the youngest - the post-docs - some of whom could hope for permanent jobs. Then junior professorships, a fairly recent scheme which will be the subject of "special publicity this year" , according to Mr. Petit.

A notch above, the annual recruitment of external research directors, i.e. those not from the internal body of research officers, could be increased.

Finally, the CNRS aims to innovate by targeting global research "stars" for international chairs. According to its CEO, it doesn't need to pay them more than the best researchers already employed.

Who says he is convinced that "the motivation of a researcher is never remuneration" , but above all "the working environment, with its infrastructure, and the possibility of confronting the best" .

Not to mention that once the costs of education, health and social protection are included, the pay gap appears smaller.

However, since money remains the key to funding research, the official notes that the CNRS's room for maneuver is "not very great."

And places its hopes in the announcement on the platform that the State could contribute up to 50% of the cost of research projects, based on merit and using funds from the France 2030 program.

"It is at the European level that the effort must be made," noted Research Minister Philippe Baptiste recently. And not just for vulgar financial issues, but also on issues such as the free movement of researchers and knowledge.

"At France-Universités, we believe that this is the scale at which we must work," its vice-president Jean-François Huchet also stressed to AFP, recalling that "the European research sector still needs to be established."

"What we can do for researchers in the United States could accelerate the movement and improve our devices," he adds.

For example, access to certain databases shared with the United States could be threatened. This "raises the question of our sovereignty," warns the official.