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Emmanuel Macron has warned that Donald Trump’s crackdown on US scientific research threatens America’s economy and democracy, because the French leader and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen made a pitch to researchers to come back to Europe as a substitute.
“Nobody could have thought that the world’s biggest democracy, whose economic model relies so heavily on science, on innovation and on its ability . . . to have disseminated this innovation more widely than its European peers, would make such a mistake. But here we’re,” Macron told a conference at Paris’s Sorbonne university on Monday.
“Without free scientific inquiry, we lose . . . pillars of our societies that are the very heart of western liberal democracies, at first of which is our relationship with the reality,” the French president said.
The Trump administration has launched an unprecedented crackdown on universities within the US and is searching for to slash federal funding and suppress research into subjects including vaccination and climate change.
The White House said in an announcement on Monday: “The USA is by far the biggest funder of scientific research and is home to the world’s largest ecosystem for innovation and research.”
It added: “The Trump administration spending its first few months to review the previous administration’s projects, discover waste and realign our research spending to suit the priorities of the American people shouldn’t be going to upend America’s modern dominance.”
Speaking ahead of Macron on the Sorbonne, von der Leyen proposed a €500mn financial package to be spent in 2025-2027 “to make Europe a magnet for researchers” and to support those that decide to relocate to the continent.
Von der Leyen didn’t mention the US or Trump by name, but said “open and free” science was Europe’s “calling card”.
“We must do all the things we are able to to uphold it, now greater than ever before,” she said. “Europe must remain the house of educational and scientific freedom.”
Macron also promised an extra €100mn for initiatives to draw researchers to France by the tip of 2030, though neither he nor von der Leyen gave details of how the funds could be used.
Macron was explicit in his criticism of the US administration as he reiterated his calls for greater scientific sovereignty in Europe.
“We sometimes failed since it was so comfortable to be hand-in-hand with the Americans. Many Europeans had a powerful conviction [that] we’d never be abandoned. It’s as in the event that they were us, but that’s not true,” he said.
The stand-off between the Trump administration and US universities has alarmed many administrators and researchers because the president has stepped up attacks on American institutions his supporters consider too progressive. The administration has also revoked visas for foreign students and researchers.
Within the wake of the Trump crackdown, the UK government is preparing to launch a £50mn scheme to woo international research talent to Britain with research grants and relocation funding, based on people briefed on the plans.
Macron and von der Leyen sought to present a vision of free scientific inquiry, citing the role science played in structuring European society from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment era.
The French president also linked attacks on expertise with the rise of conspiracy theories and misinformation that might fracture societies. He cited the 18th century French philosopher Voltaire to warn that believing in a “revealed” truth and prohibiting research would put in danger society’s “capability to disagree, together”.
Europe has for many years struggled to compete with the US on research and innovation as a result of red tape, lower funding and fewer developed links between academic research institutions and the private sector.
France, specifically, is home to many top scientific universities but lots of its graduates have left for larger opportunities within the US, leaving the continent with a dearth of champions in technologies including cloud computing and AI. European leaders now see a chance within the profound changes sweeping through the US system.
“Now we have to make it easier and more attractive to come back to Europe for research,” von der Leyen said, citing the necessity to speed up entry processes for scientists and researchers and initiatives to link highly expert immigrants with institutions.
“We’re selecting to be the continent where universities are pillars of our societies and our lifestyle . . . Where global talent is welcomed,” she added. “Progress thrives on freedom, openness and collaboration.”
