Paris, October 2025 — The French hosting programme for scientists and artists in exile, known as PAUSE (Programme d’Aide à l’Accueil en Urgence des Scientifiques et Artistes en Exil), has issued an urgent call to the French State and to civil society. The Collège de France–led initiative warns that 25 of its laureates and their families remain trapped in Gaza, enduring bombings, hunger, and the absence of basic living conditions.
Among them was Ahmed Shamia, a Gazan architect and PAUSE laureate, who was killed in May 2025 in an Israeli airstrike. His death, the program says, underscores the immediate danger faced by the remaining scholars and their families.
“These individuals already have employment, housing, and host institutions waiting for them in France,” the program stated. “That they are still waiting, despite this readiness, makes no sense.”
PAUSE is calling on the French government to mobilize diplomatic and logistical means to facilitate their evacuation, along with other civilians in urgent medical or humanitarian need.
A Programme Under Strain
Since its creation in 2017, PAUSE has become a cornerstone of France’s humanitarian and academic solidarity, providing refuge to more than 720 scientists and artists at risk worldwide. The initiative allows threatened academics and creators to continue their work in safety, often in collaboration with French universities and cultural institutions.
But this mission is now under severe strain.
In its latest appeal, PAUSE revealed that while over 100 applications were submitted during its last funding call, the programme currently has resources to support only 15 people. The organization links this shortfall to insufficient state funding and the suspension of evacuations from Gaza.
“While exceptional funds were made available for Ukraine in 2022, no similar provision has been maintained for other urgent crises,” the statement read. “This threatens our capacity to respond to emergencies in Gaza, Sudan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Congo, and elsewhere.”
€3 Million Needed by November
To sustain its operations and respond to the current emergencies, PAUSE says it must raise €3 million by November 15, 2025. The appeal urges both the French State and private donors to step in.
“Our ability to save lives and support threatened intellectuals now depends on this collective effort,” the programme declared. “Each contribution is essential — these are lives to be saved, research to be pursued, and futures to be rebuilt.”
About PAUSE
Founded in 2017 and managed by the Collège de France, the PAUSE program facilitates the emergency hosting of scientists and artists forced into exile due to war, persecution, or political repression. It provides funding and coordination to universities and cultural institutions across France willing to host those at risk.