Prime Minister Gabriel Attal affirmed on Saturday that “there will never be a right to blockade” in universities, the day after a tense pro-Palestinian mobilization at Sciences Po, concluded by an agreement between demonstrators and management. “There will never be a right to blockade, never any tolerance with the action of an active and dangerous minority which seeks to impose its rules on our students and our teachers,” declared Gabriel Attal during a trip to Pirou, in the Manche.
The Prime Minister deplored “the heartbreaking and shocking spectacle” of the blockade and partial occupation of the Parisian establishment by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on Friday, which turned into a tense face-to-face confrontation with other pro-Israel demonstrators. However, the situation calmed down in the evening, after management announced the suspension of disciplinary procedures and the organization of an internal debate next week.
The Prime Minister accuses LFI of “seeking to disrupt the functioning of this institution”
“For there to be debate, the rules must be respected, respect for each other’s positions must be permanent, this is not what we saw yesterday,” said Gabriel Attal, accusing “a minority agitated by political forces in particular La France Insoumise (to) seek to disrupt the functioning of this institution”.
“I will not accept it,” he added, promising to “maintain absolute vigilance (…) on respect for the values of the Republic and the law”.
“Shame on those who exploit passions”, reacts Sylvie Retailleau
The Minister of Higher Education Sylvie Retailleau for her part “thanked” the management of Sciences Po after the agreement which put an end to the movement in this establishment, “which must remain a place of study, respect and debate serene”. “Shame on those who exploit passions: their cynicism blinds them,” the minister added on the X network. Friday, she denounced the “dangerous game” attributed in this mobilization to LFI, several deputies of which were present in the gathering in front of Sciences Po.
I thank Mr. Jean Bassères for his action to @political sciencewhich must remain a place of study, respect and serene debate.
Shame on those who exploit passions: their cynicism blinds them.— Sylvie Retailleau (@sretailleau) April 26, 2024
“French universities, contrary to what one might read or hear, are not in a state of fire and blood. Even at Sciences Po, it is a very small group that is blocking it”, also underlined the president of the University of Strasbourg, Michel Deneken, interviewed Saturday morning on RMC. “Initiating a debate is not giving in to the students, it is doing our job. We must be vigilant, our mission is to let the contradictory debate take place, in peace, in academic exchange but not in vociferation or political recovery,” he added.