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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Ashifa Kassam European community affairs correspondent

Nearly 300 apply as French university offers US academics ‘scientific asylum’

On Thursday, Aix-Marseille University said it had received 298 applications in the span of a month, of which 242 were deemed eligible, for its ‘Safe Place for Science’ scheme.
On Thursday, Aix-Marseille University said it had received 298 applications in the span of a month, of which 242 were deemed eligible, for its ‘Safe Place for Science’ scheme. Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images

Nearly 300 academics have applied to a French university’s offer to take in US-based researchers rattled by the American government’s crackdown on academia, as a former French president called for the creation of a “scientific refugee” status for academics in peril.

Earlier this year, France’s Aix-Marseille University was among the first in Europe to respond to the funding freezes, cuts and executive orders unleashed on institutions across the US by Donald Trump’s administration.

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