France offers “Scientific Asylum” as nearly 300 researchers flee US crackdown

France’s Aix-Marseille University has received nearly 300 applications for its “Safe Place for Science” program, which offers three-year research fellowships to academics affected by the U.S. government’s restrictive policies on science and academia, The Guardian reported.

Of the 298 applicants, 242 were deemed eligible, many coming from top institutions like NASA, Yale, Columbia, and Johns Hopkins. Most applicants were American or dual nationals, with some also from Europe, India, Brazil, and France.
The program was launched in response to funding cuts and executive orders under Donald Trump’s administration.

University President Eric Berton said many applications were sent via encrypted messaging, accompanied by alarming accounts of repression in the U.S. academic sector. Former French President François Hollande, alongside Berton, has proposed establishing a legal “scientific refugee” status to protect researchers facing threats under authoritarian regimes.

A bill tabled in the French parliament would allow such researchers to receive subsidiary protection—faster and more structured than traditional asylum pathways. Hollande emphasized that protecting scientists, especially in fields like climate research, is vital for global progress, framing the move as part of France’s historical legacy of supporting intellectual freedom in contrast to rising global repression.