Since taking office in January 2025, Donald Trump has launched brutal attacks against science and scientific institutions, particularly regarding climate, environmental protection, and public health. Budget cuts, credit freezes, mass layoffs, investigations, censorship, campus arrests, tightening of immigration policies, intimidation, and repression have all increased.
After pulling out of the Paris Agreement, President Trump banned diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and had thousands of internet pages removed from federal sites mentioning topics he deemed off-limits. A year later, these attacks have only intensified.
In the face of this widespread obscurantist and oppressive offensive, shock and outrage have given way to resistance. A year ago, the Stand Up for Science movement emerged in the United States. During a demonstration on March 7, it proclaimed the slogan “Save Science, Protect Health, Defend Democracy.”
In France, budget cuts have deprived scientific institutions of the necessary means to function properly, putting them in difficulty or even danger. Over the past twenty years, there has been a gradual elimination of positions and a precarious situation for staff and students, destabilizing the production and transmission of knowledge.
In response to Stand Up for Science’s call, new demonstrations will take place tomorrow, Thursday, March 26, 2026. In Paris, the procession will start from Jussieu at 4 pm to reach the Pantheon.
According to the organizers, the aim is to affirm “the importance of science for democracy” because “without a top-level university, without science, we condemn ourselves to a dark future.” The goal is to “communicate our pride and joy in conducting research, being a student, practicing mediation or scientific journalism, and working to make the University an institution of the most demanding knowledge and thought. The joy of research, knowledge, and transmission requires having a free mind. This involves protective statuses for some and free education for others.”
More information can be found on the website: standupforscience.fr
Context: The content discusses the impact of Donald Trump’s policies on science and scientific institutions, leading to resistance and protests in the United States and internationally.
Fact Check: The content accurately reflects the critical stance of scientific institutions and the pushback against anti-science policies implemented under the Trump administration.
