Meet the first ‘scientific refugees’ fleeing the US for France

MARSEILLE, France — The first American academics fleeing Donald Trump’s America for France have arrived.

Aix-Marseille University last week introduced eight U.S.-based researchers who were in the final stage of joining the institution’s “Safe Place for Science” program, which aims to woo researchers who have experienced or fear funding cuts under the Trump administration. AMU offers the promise of a brighter future in the sun-drenched Mediterranean port city.

While both France and the European Union have launched multimillion-euro plans to woo researchers across the pond since Trump assumed the U.S. presidency in January, AMU’s initiative was the first of its kind in the country — meaning the eight researchers who were welcomed are the first academic refugees planning to trade the United States for France.

Speaking from the university’s hilltop astrophysics lab, AMU President Eric Berton likened the situation to that of European academics who fled persecution by Nazi Germany both before and during World War II.

“What is at play here today is not unrelated to another dark period of our history,” he said.

Berton and former French President François Hollande have pushed for the creation of a “scientific refugee” status.

As most of the researchers who attended Berton’s speech had not yet signed their contracts with AMU, they requested anonymity to protect their stateside research positions if they ended up not being admitted or declining the offer.

Among the applicants were James, a climate scientist at a reputable research university, and his wife, who studies the intersection of judicial systems and democracies. James said they had applied because they were “working in areas which are targeted” and could be prone to funding cuts.

While James, who didn’t want his surname used, said he doesn’t think of himself and his fellow academics as “refugees,” he voiced deep concern about the future of academic research under Trump.

Brian Sandberg, a professor of history at Northern Illinois University who researches climate change during the Little Ice Age period from roughly the 16th to 19th centuries, had already been set to spend a year in Marseille as a visiting professor. While taking part in a workshop in the city in March, he learned of AMU’s program and decided to apply.

“The entire system of research and the entire education in the United States is really under attack,” Sandberg said.

AMU said 298 researchers from prestigious universities including Stanford and Yale had applied, despite the university’s lack of name recognition outside France compared to some of its Parisian counterparts. Berton said the high volume of applicants spoke to the “urgency” of the situation across the Atlantic.

The university’s president insisted that participants in the “Safe Place for Science” program would be paid the same wages as French researchers. | Clement Mahoudeau/AFP via Getty Images

The school has already put up €15 million to pay for the program and is lobbying the French government to match that figure, which would enable it to nearly double its planned hires from 20 to 39.

Still, moving to a new country where English is not the official language a big step. There’s also the issue of salaries, which are lower for academics in France than in the United States, and the fact there’s less money for research.

An early-career biological anthropologist said she was still awaiting contract details from AMU before putting pen to paper because of salary discrepancies, though she took comfort in the fact that the cost of living is lower in France — especially considering that education for her two children, who she said were eager to settle in Marseille, would be free.

The university’s president insisted that participants in the “Safe Place for Science” program would be paid the same wages as French researchers. The statement sought to appease concerns within France’s academic community that money would now be focused on drawing U.S. scientists whereas local researchers have long complained of insufficient funding.

But the biological anthropologist said a more carefree life could compensate for a lower salary. “There’ll be a lot less stress as a whole, politically, academically,” she reflected.