The new US administration's attack on science has been spectacular, but one must not be mistaken about its nature: It only marginally affects the budget for research. As early as January, figures were flying around about potential billion-dollar cuts in medical research – the top civilian federal expenditure. A threat loomed for overheads, sums paid by financiers for general services provided by a university or research organization (the building, administration, security, etc.).

In France, the National Research Agency (ANR) funds up to 30% of these expenses, after having long been limited to 20%. Across the Atlantic, the proportions of overheads covered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) can reach up to 60%. In early February, the federal agency was supposed to reduce them to 15%, allowing $4 billion to be saved, before a federal judge suspended this measure a few days later. However, Congress' adoption of a budget deal, on March 14, led to a near-freeze of the federal research budget, making it impossible to challenge the NIH's overhead payments until the end of the financial year.

Thus, American federal spending on research and development remains around $150 billion. If its distribution were modified, only $2-3 billion in additional programs would be withdrawn. This is proportionally much lower than the higher education and research credit cancellations decided in France, in 2024, which amounted to €904 million.

Thus, American federal spending on research and development remains around $150 billion. If its distribution were modified, only $2-3 billion in additional programs would be withdrawn. This is proportionally much lower than the higher education and research credit cancelations decided in France, in 2024, which amounted to €904 million.

Research programs in US private universities are also funded by the NIH. Against all expectations, the NIH's new director, Jay Bhattacharya, a loyal Donald Trump supporter, did not make drastic cuts. While Stanford University could have feared losses in federal funding, in the end, the cuts should only represent a small part of its nearly $9 billion budget. The Californian university merely announced a freeze on hiring administrative staff, a decision that was welcomed positively by neoconservative students. In comparison, southern France's Aix-Marseille University, a pioneer in setting up a program to welcome some American colleagues, has a budget that is 10 times smaller for eight times more students!

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