In June, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would be leaving the Paris Agreement, an international agreement sponsored by the United Nations and signed by almost 200 countries aiming to limit climate change. The newly elected President of France, Emmanuel Macron, quickly offered his country as an alternative place to work for climate scientists who were unhappy with Trump’s decision. Almost six months after making his international offer, the French government announced in early December that 18 researchers have been accepted onto the Make Our Planet Great Again program. Those selected will receive US$1.5 million for their research projects and five years of guaranteed work. Two-thirds of those approved previously worked in the United States. The rest are from Italy, Spain, Poland, India, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In a statement, the National Center for Scientific Research in France called the Macron initiative a marketing ploy, and complained that “giving [foreign scientists] special priority, especially regarding salaries, is an insult to French researchers.”
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