France President Emmanuel Macron says the US is committing an error by withdrawing researchers’ visas: Nobody could …

The Donald Trump administration’s cuts to research institutions and threats to defund universities like Harvard and Columbia have prompted European leaders to offer financial support to American researchers, viewing the moves as a “gigantic miscalculation,” according to the New York Times. France announced its own program to lure US-based researchers last month. The government promised universities and research institutions in the country up to 50% of the funding needed to lure international researchers.French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at the Sorbonne University in Paris during the Choose Europe for Science event, criticized the US for undermining research programs over terms like “diversity” and revoking researchers’ visas. “Nobody could imagine… that one of the great democracies of the world would eliminate research programs,” he said, calling it an “error” for a nation reliant on open science. Macron said that his government would commit $113 million to the international researchers' program.European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen announced a €500 million ($566 million) investment to attract researchers to Europe over two years, complementing the $105 billion Horizon Europe program supporting breakthroughs like mRNA vaccines. Without naming the U.S., she decried global challenges to “fundamental, free and open research” as a “gigantic miscalculation.” She reportedly did not mention the United States by name, but she described a global environment where “fundamental, free and open research is questioned.”The European Commission plans to double grants for relocating researchers and codify scientific freedom in the European Research Area Act. France also launched a program last month, backed by $113 million, to cover around 50% of costs for universities to attract international researchers, the Times reported.