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00:00Basically, this effort is underway because for Emmanuel Macron, this is an amazing opportunity to try and convince American researchers, but also this is addressed to researchers across the world to tell them, look, come and work in Europe.
00:14It is a free space. It's a safe space. You can do your research here. There is academic freedom.
00:19That is one of the themes of the round tables that are taking place in this building behind me, but also saying that there will be credits, European credits and French credits.
00:28Basically, this is why Ursula von der Leyen is here today. We don't know yet how much money is going to be pledged today, but we know that there should be financial incentives, also potential tax cuts for those who would want to come and set up shop here in France.
00:43The operation is already underway. The platform was open some weeks ago, and some 300 American researchers are going to set up shop in ex-Marseille University in June.
00:56Everything is getting ready there for them to arrive. Now, of course, there are a lot of question marks as to how this is going to be financed, how much these researchers can be paid here in France.
01:06I mean, conditions are very, very different from what you can expect on the other side of the Atlantic, and that's why a lot of French researchers were doing the trip the other way not so long ago.
01:17But, of course, for these American researchers, this is an opportunity to carry on with their research.
01:21A lot of them have lost their grants and are in a situation now where it's difficult to carry on in the United States.
01:27James, it's a huge turn up, you know, turn around for people's lives, isn't it, for people to come here?
01:34Just as I'm asking this question, we're just seeing Emmanuel Macron and Ersia von der Leyen walking onto the stage at that conference.
01:42But, James, let me just ask you, I mean, why would American researchers turn their lives around, if you like, to come to places like France?
01:49Well, simply because for a lot of them, it's no longer possible to work in the United States.
01:56I'll give you just an example that took place last week.
01:59Basically, the Trump administration has gutted what is called the climate assessment.
02:04This is one of the main reports worldwide when it comes to climate change.
02:08It's focused on the United States of America, and it's used by the federal government to make decisions, long-term decisions, but also for the private companies.
02:16Now, what the Trump administration has done is not cancel the report.
02:20They simply asked all the scientists taking care of it to step down and go on leave, which is as good as basically canceling the whole program.
02:31Now, for these people, for example, the United States has become a place where it is very difficult to work.
02:37These are top climate scientists in a country that has become openly climate aseptic, or at least an administration that has.
02:45You've got to remember that right now there's a coordinated attack by the Trump administration on U.S. universities.
02:52For example, if you take Harvard, $2.2 billion in grants have been taken away.
02:58If you take Columbia University in New York, that's $400 million.
03:01That means programs are shutting down.
03:04People are getting laid off, and they're working in fields where it's no longer popular to do research in the United States,
03:10or at least popular with the current administration.
03:13So for these people, they could decide to simply leave the United States, come and set up shop in Europe,
03:20and sit out the Trump presidency, see where things go from here.
03:26But if you are a researcher in the United States working on climate or LGBTQ issues or various issues that do not align with Trump policies,
03:34well, you're probably wanting to try and find a way of carrying on your research in a more welcoming country.