The Minister of Higher Education Sylvie Retailleau announced on Sunday a complaint against Jean-Luc Mélenchon for “public insult”, after the leader of LFI drew a parallel between the president of the University of Lille and the Nazi Adolf Eichmann. The former presidential candidate had mentioned the Nazi war criminal on April 18 during a meeting in Lille, organized in the middle of the street after two refusals of rooms by the prefect and the president of the university.
“‘I did nothing’ said Eichmann. ‘I only obeyed the law as it was in my country’. So, they say that they obey the law and they put implements immoral measures which are not justified by anything or anyone,” he declared. Questioned on BFMTV on Sunday evening, Sylvie Retailleau estimated that “the words of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who called the president (of the University of Lille) a Nazi, are a public insult”: “My ministry will file a complaint for public insult in front of a public official,” she announced.
Three LFI conferences canceled since the start of the year
“The majority of debates, conferences, are held in our universities where the presidents are there to ensure the safety of all,” she added. “Why was the conference canceled at the University of Lille, after having been authorized? Because there were also demonstrations that were going to take place and the president (of the university, editor’s note) had the information that there was a risk to public order”, according to her.
His ministry specified to AFP that “19 LFI conferences have been held since the start of the year in French higher education establishments under the supervision of the ministry” and that “three have been canceled due to the risk of disruption to the public order, three were unauthorized for the same reasons or for non-compliance with the internal framework of the university.
In an interview with Opinion Sunday, the president of the University of Lille Régis Bordet for his part affirmed that “the office of the Minister of Higher Education and Research, the rectorate and the prefecture (have) contacted them to find out about the “At no time was there any desire on their part to influence the decision,” he said.