In light of attempts by President Trump to restrict foreign student enrollment at Harvard, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed solidarity with the university's students and faculty. Speaking at HEC in Paris, Barrot stated that France would provide refuge for international students denied entry by US courts. He criticized the pressures faced by US universities under Trump's administration, including funding cuts and oversight demands, while noting Europe’s initiative to attract researchers disillusioned by the US educational climate.
"We stand with universities facing the threat of government control, restriction to their funding, constraints on their curricula or research projects," Jean-Noel Barrot said during a commencement address at the high-profile HEC business school in Paris.
"Should US courts uphold decisions to ban international students, France will offer a safe place to complete their degrees," he said.
Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump's campaign against top American universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and 'viewpoint diversity'.
France and the European Union are seeking to encourage disgruntled researchers to relocate from the United States to Europe.
Collection
[
|
...
]