Stand Up for Science: Institut Pasteur committed to defending science and supporting the solidarity movement with the US scientific community

Recent events in the United States, with attacks against both scientific facts and scientists themselves, have highlighted the urgent need for collective action. On March 7, echoing the Stand Up for Science day in the United States, fifty scientists and academics called for demonstrations to be held in every university city in France.

The Institut Pasteur took the opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to open, transparent and collaborative research by joining the Stand Up for Science initiative, while also expressing its solidarity with scientists in the United States.

A first gathering was organized on March 7, before the Stand Up for Science march, with Institut Pasteur employees invited to come together on the CIS forecourt wearing a lab coat

The Stand Up for Science initiative emerged in response to a critical imperative to defend the independence and integrity of scientific research as an essential pillar of democracy.

"Science is the basis of our understanding of the world and our ability to provide an enlightened response to the challenges of our time. We all need to come together to defend it," said Institut Pasteur President Yasmine Belkaid.

 

 

On March 7, dozens of Institut Pasteur employees – both scientists and administrative staff including the President and the Chairman of the the Board of Governors, with or without lab coats – were among the 5,000 people who gathered in the Latin quarter in Paris in response to this urgent appeal in support of scientific freedom. They marched from Jussieu to Port-Royal to demonstrate their support and commitment to defending knowledge and combating any disinformation or censorship.

 

Expressing her support for the movement, Yasmine Belkaid emphasized the need to "reiterate that science is a universal asset that serves humanity."