“Supporting Palestine is not a crime. » The banner marks the start of the mobilization in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza by students from Sciences Po Toulouse, Tuesday April 30, who demonstrated in their establishment. Most political studies institutes (IEP) were disrupted by general assemblies and rallies like in Lyon, or even blockades like in Rennes, Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines) and Strasbourg, in the wake actions undertaken the day before at the Sorbonne in Paris.
At the request of the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, who wanted “a rapid reaction”the police intervened promptly to dislodge the students who had pitched tents in the main courtyard of the prestigious university.
Since the installation of the first camp in the interior courtyard of Sciences Po Paris, Wednesday April 24 – evacuated during the night by the CRS – and echoing the movement underway at Columbia University, in New York State, the movement in support of the Gazan people has grown, although confined mainly to IEPs and a few universities.
One of the relocated campuses of Sciences Po Paris, located in Menton (Alpes-Maritimes), was occupied until early morning on Tuesday by around thirty students who had decorated the facade with a Palestinian flag. The campus director, Youssef Halaoua, announced, in a message to students, his decision to close the premises ” until further notice “ and take classes remotely.
“Discrimination and pressure”
“We want Sciences Po to use the rhetoric of the International Court of Justice [qui a demandé, fin janvier, à Israël d’empêcher d’éventuels actes de « génocide »] and the UN, put an end to the dual approach that we are witnessing regarding [d’une part] the Ukraine-Russia war [et, d’autre part, la guerre menée par Israël à Gaza] and take a strong stance on all discrimination and pressures students face”write, in a press release, the students gathered in a general assembly in Menton.
In Reims (Marne), another relocated campus of the Parisian institute, the students had to decide in the evening, Tuesday, on a potential new occupation of the premises at the end of the week in the event that the meeting organized Thursday, May 2 by the provisional administrator, Jean Bassères, would not meet their expectations.
This town hall − or great debate as practiced in Anglo-Saxon establishments − was announced following negotiations between the students who occupied Sciences Po, Friday April 26. It is designed as a time for exchanges between students, professors, researchers and employees, where “all questions can be asked” about the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The management provided train tickets to four students from each of the seven branch campuses to participate. Those from Menton are no longer invited, due to the occupation of the night, indicates to World the management of Sciences Po.
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