Macron calls for action to protect collaborative research platforms and databases

Europe must ensure that decades’ worth of data and knowledge are not “lost to science” at a time when Donald Trump is ransacking US research, according to French president Emmanuel Macron. Speaking at an event in Paris on May 5, he called for action to resist the loss of scientific data that does not align with the US administration’s views on subjects such as climate change and public health.

“A world without reports from the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] to tell the truth about climate change would not be the same,” Macron said in a speech concluding the Choose Europe for Science event. “What is being called into question today, mainly given the pivotal role of the United States in global science, are the major research platforms that structure the planet, essential databases in epidemiology and climatology, which risk being shut down, made inaccessible, or even in some cases irretrievably lost to science.”

In its first 100 days, the Trump administration has gutted federal science agencies by ordering massive layoffs and grant terminations. It has also begun sweeping deletions of scientific data held by the US government, forcing researchers to rush to save their work before it’s gone for good.

The French president emphasised the urgency of stimulating funding and cooperation to shelter or recover these collaborative platforms and databases. As an example of how this might be done, he cited Current AI, an association created at France’s artificial intelligence summit in February to boost open research and data security so that the field does not depend on a few private actors.

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“Let’s collectively consider the difficult task of archiving certain specific knowledge,” Macron said, adding that he hopes to see Europe finalise similar initiatives in the coming months. One of those, he explained, could be built on the work of non-profit organisation Software Heritage, which collects the source code for publicly available software.

Macron concluded by saying that the present events should not be seen as “just another bad time to get through.” Instead, it should be seen as a strategic awakening. “We must therefore regain everywhere, in all segments of research and our industry, such essential strategic autonomy.”