Macron invites international scientists to come work in France

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron invited scientists from all over the world to come work in France or Europe, as U.S. President Donald Trump's new administration has started slashing funding for universities and research bodies.

Macron did not mention the U.S., where hundreds of scientists have been dismissed in cutbacks to research that come amid a broader clash between Trump and Ivy League universities.

"Here in France, research is a priority, innovation a culture, science a limitless horizon. Researchers from all over the world, choose France, choose Europe!" Macron said in a post on X.

Trump administration officials point to the wave of pro-Palestinian protests on campuses last year as a rationale for its demands of the universities. However, critics among faculty and student groups say the measures are designed to chill speech and that campuses should be a place for freedom of expression and academic thought. 

The threat to academics' livelihoods at U.S. universities has given Europe's political leaders hope they could reap an intellectual windfall.

France on Friday launched the "Choose France for Science" platform, operated by the French National Research Agency (ANR), which enables universities, schools, and research organisations to apply for co-funding from the government to host researchers.

"France is committed to standing up to attacks on academic freedom across the globe," ANR said in a statement.

It added that "the international context" was creating the conditions for an unprecedented wave of mobility among researchers worldwide, and that France intends to position itself as a welcoming place for those wishing to pursue their work in Europe.

ANR said the platform would allow universities to submit projects to host international researchers, especially in areas including health research, climate and biodiversity, artificial intelligence, space studies, agriculture, low-carbon energy and digital systems.

(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Daniel Wallis)