American researchers in France
Since the spring of 2025 a university, the State and the European Union have each opened a door to researchers leaving the United States. This page keeps what their own pages say, with the day each was read.
Official pages read on 28 October 2026.
The headline
Laureates of Choose France for Science
41 of 46 come from a home institution in the United States. The ministry's profile is dated 19 January 2026.
Researchers at Aix-Marseille Université
As said by the university's president on a ministry page of 1 December 2025. Some are funded by Choose France for Science.
Global budget of Choose France for Science
On the ministry page of 1 December 2025. The State may cover up to half of a project.
These are three different schemes with figures counted in different ways, so they are not added together. The table below keeps each figure with the page it comes from, and the section after it says what no page gives.
What each programme says
Safe Place for Science
Run by Aix-Marseille Université, with its foundation Amidex.
All nationalities could apply, but the candidate had to have worked in the United States for at least two years. First wave of applications closed on 31 March 2025, and the page now says reception of applications is suspended.
| What the page says | Figure | Refers to | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| BudgetThe call document says the budget dedicated to the programme is 15 million euros. The president's quote on the news page says it hopes to free up to that sum to take in about fifteen researchers. | Up to 15 million euros over 3 years | not dated on the page | Aix Marseille Université: Safe Place For Science, news page |
| Researchers the university planned to take inThe news page and the press release of 12 March 2025 say about fifteen. The note of 17 April 2025 says the university will take in about twenty American scientists in the end. | About fifteen, then about twenty | 17 April 2025 | Aix Marseille Université: note to editors of 17 April 2025, status of the programme |
| Applications received242 of them eligible, in the course of analysis on that day. Half women and half men. | 298 | 17 April 2025 | Aix Marseille Université: note to editors of 17 April 2025, status of the programme |
| Applications judged eligible | 242 | 17 April 2025 | Aix Marseille Université: note to editors of 17 April 2025, status of the programme |
| Applicants by nationality: AmericanThe note lists four groups: American (135), binational (45, it does not say which nationalities), French (17) and other countries (45). It does not say which set they cover. The four add up to 242, the number of eligible applications. | 135 | 17 April 2025 | Aix Marseille Université: note to editors of 17 April 2025, status of the programme |
| Applicants by nationality: two nationalities | 45 | 17 April 2025 | Aix Marseille Université: note to editors of 17 April 2025, status of the programme |
| Applicants by nationality: French | 17 | 17 April 2025 | Aix Marseille Université: note to editors of 17 April 2025, status of the programme |
| Applicants by nationality: other countries | 45 | 17 April 2025 | Aix Marseille Université: note to editors of 17 April 2025, status of the programme |
| Applications kept for a hearingSelection committee set for 23 April 2025, hearings in the second half of May. Campus France writes that 39 candidates were kept after pre-selection. | 30 to 40 | 17 April 2025 | Aix Marseille Université: note to editors of 17 April 2025, status of the programme |
| Scientists arrived by early summer 2025The Campus France page shows no date in its text. It also says about twenty more were being recruited for a September arrival. | About ten | not dated on the page | Campus France: Safe Place For Science, the first American researchers welcomed at Aix-Marseille Université |
| Researchers taken in, as stated by the university's presidentIn the transcript of the ministry's video, Éric Berton says 31 colleagues are taken in: 20 funded by the university through Safe Place for Science and 11 funded by Choose France for Science. He describes the scheme as for researchers in American laboratories. The call itself was open to every nationality. | 31 | 1 December 2025 | Ministry of Higher Education and Research: first international researchers welcomed at Aix-Marseille Université (video with transcript, 1 December 2025) |
| Applications received, as stated by the university's presidentSaid in the same transcript. It is not the 298 of the note of 17 April 2025. Neither page says how the two counts differ, and we have not reconciled them. | 600 | 1 December 2025 | Ministry of Higher Education and Research: first international researchers welcomed at Aix-Marseille Université (video with transcript, 1 December 2025) |
Choose France for Science
Run by Ministry of Higher Education and Research, run by the ANR within France 2030.
Researchers working abroad, any nationality and any country. Applications are taken on a rolling basis with no end date.
| What the page says | Figure | Refers to | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| LaunchThe ANR page of the same day announces the platform. | 18 April 2025 | 18 April 2025 | Ministry of Higher Education and Research: Choose France for Science |
| Global budgetState co-financing through France 2030 covers up to 50% of a project, within 2.5 million euros per laureate. | 100 million euros | 1 December 2025 | Ministry of Higher Education and Research: the Choose France for Science scheme (1 December 2025) |
| Applications created on the platformThe ministry's infographic says created, and gives 119 as submitted. It does not say what separates the two. | Over 2,000 | 19 January 2026 | Ministry of Higher Education and Research: Choose France for Science, profile of the first 46 recipients as of 19 January 2026 (PDF) |
| Applications submitted | 119 | 19 January 2026 | Ministry of Higher Education and Research: Choose France for Science, profile of the first 46 recipients as of 19 January 2026 (PDF) |
| Laureates selected by the jury | 46 | 19 January 2026 | Ministry of Higher Education and Research: Choose France for Science, profile of the first 46 recipients as of 19 January 2026 (PDF) |
| Laureates whose home institution is in the United StatesFive more come from Sweden, Belgium, Israel, Chile and Australia, one each. | 41 of 46 | 19 January 2026 | Ministry of Higher Education and Research: Choose France for Science, profile of the first 46 recipients as of 19 January 2026 (PDF) |
| Laureates of American nationality13 are French, 3 Italian, 2 German, and one each for nine other nationalities. | 19 | 19 January 2026 | Ministry of Higher Education and Research: Choose France for Science, profile of the first 46 recipients as of 19 January 2026 (PDF) |
| Laureates hosted by Aix-Marseille UniversitéThe infographic gives the host institution of each laureate. | 12 | 19 January 2026 | Ministry of Higher Education and Research: Choose France for Science, profile of the first 46 recipients as of 19 January 2026 (PDF) |
| Projects on the list proposed for fundingThe ANR list names the project, the person in charge and the host institution. It gives no nationality and no country of origin. We counted the rows. The page says only October 2026. | 42 | October 2026 | ANR: Choose France for Science, list of projects proposed for funding (October 2026, PDF) |
Choose CNRS
Run by CNRS.
Four strands: international chairs, research director posts, junior professor chairs and postdoctoral contracts, the last aimed in particular at young PhDs from the United States, Canada and Latin America. The page gives no count of people taken in.
Choose Europe for Science
Run by European Commission, announced at the Sorbonne on 5 May 2025.
Researchers from anywhere in the world. It is a funding and support package, not a scheme with its own list of people taken in.
| What the page says | Figure | Refers to | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funding package announced for researchers, 2025 to 2027The Commission page says a new 500 million euro package for 2025 to 2027. It also lists 22.5 million euros for an MSCA pilot, and 2 million euros extra per researcher on ERC Advanced Grants. | 500 million euros | 23 May 2025 | European Commission: Choose Europe for Science, EU comes together to attract top research talent (23 May 2025) |
| Boost to the Marie Sklodowska-Curie ActionsThe page does not date the announcement. It does not say how many of these researchers come from the United States. | Over 210 million euros, for more than 700 additional researchers | not dated on the page | European Commission: Choose Europe, advance your research career in the EU |
What happened, in order
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The ANR publishes a list of 42 projects proposed for funding
The list gives the project, the person in charge and the host institution of each. It gives no nationality.
Page: ANR: Choose France for Science, list of projects proposed for funding (October 2026, PDF). Read on 28 October 2026.
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The ministry's profile of the first 46 Choose France for Science laureates
Over 2,000 applications created, 119 submitted, 46 laureates, 41 from institutions in the United States, 19 of American nationality. The profile is attached to a ministry page published on 4 March 2026.
Page: Ministry of Higher Education and Research: Choose France for Science, profile of the first 46 recipients as of 19 January 2026 (PDF). Read on 28 October 2026.
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The ministry page carries the president's figures of 600 applications and 31 researchers
In the transcript of a ministry video, the president of Aix-Marseille Université says 31 researchers are taken in, 20 funded by the university and 11 by Choose France for Science. The ministry page of the scheme gives its global budget as 100 million euros.
Page: Ministry of Higher Education and Research: first international researchers welcomed at Aix-Marseille Université (video with transcript, 1 December 2025). Read on 28 October 2026.
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The ANR call for expressions of interest opens
Applications are taken on a rolling basis. A candidate who is chosen must present a competitive European or international project within two years of starting.
Page: ANR: Choose France for Science, call for expressions of interest 2025. Read on 28 October 2026.
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The Commission publishes its Choose Europe for Science package
A new package of 500 million euros for 2025 to 2027, and a list of more than 60 regional, national and EU schemes for researchers.
Page: European Commission: Choose Europe for Science, EU comes together to attract top research talent (23 May 2025). Read on 28 October 2026.
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Choose Europe for Science is launched at the Sorbonne
President Macron launches the initiative that aims to encourage researchers and entrepreneurs worldwide to choose Europe and France.
Page: Élysée: launch of Choose Europe for Science at the Sorbonne (5 May 2025). Read on 28 October 2026.
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CNRS launches Choose CNRS
A scheme in four strands for foreign scientists, in line with Choose France for Science. The page names postdoctoral contracts for young PhDs, notably from the United States, Canada and Latin America, and gives no count.
Page: CNRS, Ottawa office: Choose CNRS, CNRS reaches out to scientists worldwide (2 May 2025). Read on 28 October 2026.
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The State opens the Choose France for Science platform
The ANR runs the platform for the State within France 2030. Universities and research bodies can ask for State co-financing of up to 50% to take in researchers.
Page: ANR: launch of the Choose France for Science platform (18 April 2025). Read on 28 October 2026.
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The university reports 298 applications
A note to editors gives 298 applications, 242 of them eligible, and says about twenty American scientists will be taken in, the first from early June.
Page: Aix Marseille Université: note to editors of 17 April 2025, status of the programme. Read on 28 October 2026.
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The formal call for applications is updated
The call (first version 11 March 2025) opens a first wave of applications until 31 March 2025, for researchers with a PhD or MD who have worked in the United States for at least two years. All nationalities are eligible.
Page: Aix Marseille Université: Safe Place for Science, call for applications (version of 19 March 2025). Read on 28 October 2026.
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More than forty American scientists answer the call in a week
The university reports more than forty replies from researchers at Stanford, Yale, NASA, the NIH, The George Washington University and about fifteen other institutions, and says it will free up to 15 million euros over three years for about fifteen scientists.
Page: Aix Marseille Université: press release of 12 March 2025. Read on 28 October 2026.
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Aix-Marseille Université announces Safe Place for Science
The university says it will set up a programme for scientists who feel threatened or hindered in their research in the United States.
Page: Aix Marseille Université: press release of 5 March 2025. Read on 28 October 2026.
What is not published
The press has put numbers on this story, among them 31 to 40 American researchers at Aix-Marseille Université. We keep to what an official page says. These are the gaps we found.
- No official page we read gives the number of American researchers, or of researchers coming from the United States, who have moved to France since 2025, across all schemes. The nearest figures are the two above: 41 of the first 46 laureates of Choose France for Science have a home institution in the United States, and Aix-Marseille Université's own count of 31.
- The Aix-Marseille Université pages we read stop at the note of 17 April 2025. Its later figures come to us through the ministry's video transcript of 1 December 2025 and through Campus France, not from a page of the university.
- The university's 298 applications of April 2025 and the president's 600 of December 2025 are not reconciled on any page.
- The two programmes overlap. The president says 11 of the 31 researchers in Aix-Marseille are funded by Choose France for Science, and 12 of the 46 laureates are hosted there. Adding the two programmes would count some people twice.
- The ANR list of 42 projects names no nationality and no country of origin, and the ministry's profile covers the 46 laureates of January 2026. The two counts are not the same stage of the process and we do not match them.
- Neither the ministry pages nor the ANR pages say how many laureates have actually arrived in France, how many left, or what the visa and contract terms were.
- The European Commission's pages give funding amounts and a number of places for researchers worldwide. They give no count of researchers who came from the United States.
- The CNRS page on Choose CNRS gives no count of people taken in. We did not find a count on the official pages of other universities either. Campus France says CentraleSupélec joined Safe Place for Science with a fund of its own, and no page we read gives a number for it.
How to cite these figures
The figures belong to the bodies that published them, and the table gives the page of each. To cite this page:
EasyFranceNow, "American researchers in France: what official pages say", https://easyfrancenow.com/data/american-researchers-in-france, figures read 28 October 2026 on the pages it links.
Download all the figures as a CSV. Each row is one figure with the page it was read on, the day it refers to and the day we read it.
Methodology
- What counts as a source. A page of the university, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the ANR, the CNRS, the Élysée or the European Commission, or Campus France, the public agency, opened and read on 28 October 2026. Newspapers are not used for any figure.
- Figures as written. Each figure is copied as the page gives it, with the day the page gives for it. We add up nothing across programmes, because some people are counted twice. The only count of our own is the 42 rows of the ANR list.
- Pages that needed a browser. The ministry, the ANR, the CNRS Ottawa, Élysée and Commission pages and the university news page were read in a full browser, and Campus France and the university's PDF documents by direct download. Two PDFs are pictures without text: the ministry's profile of the first 46 laureates and the ANR list were read by eye.
- Where pages disagree. We show both and say so. The university's 298 applications of April 2025 and its president's 600 of December 2025 are the main case.
- Pages used. 18 pages in all, each linked in the table or in the chronology and listed in the CSV.
For the other counts of Americans in France see Americans in France: the official numbers and by region. How we check facts in general is on How we verify.
What each number means: the definitions of every measure on these pages, from the publishers' own metadata.