Pushed by André Gattolin, elected The Republic in motion of Hauts-de-Seine and connoisseur of China, who will be rapporteur, a Senate information mission on “Extra-European state influences in the French university and academic world” began his auditions on Thursday July 8.
She will have very little time to deal with this vast and sensitive subject, as she is due to deliver her conclusions at the end of September. But “The Senate can already identify the problem, name it by distinguishing between the “soft power” and what would be a threat, then formulate recommendations to respond to it ”, estimates the president of the mission, the senator (Les Républicains) of the Rhône, Etienne Blanc.
The work should, in fact, be limited to a few important states: Turkey, China, Gulf countries. “It is about identifying those who hijack the purpose of the university – the dissemination of French thought, openness to the world, the tradition of welcoming foreign students”, adds the senator. The mission will not include “Islamo-leftism”, a subject which created a storm in the academic world and earned Minister Frédérique Vidal proceedings for abuse of power.
“Instrumentalisation of research”
The senatorial mission will look at “Practices such as the funding of chairs, the instrumentalization of research for ideological or political ends, or the pressures exerted [par les Etats] on their student nationals and potentially on teachers ”, let know a press release. “The processes are multiple, sometimes subtle, and are based on the tradition of exchanges and internationalization of the Western research world. “
A questionnaire has already been distributed, through the conference of university presidents, to the establishments. The hearings will make it possible to hear officials, diplomats, European and foreign academics (especially Australians), or even, hope the president and his rapporteur, members of the French internal and external intelligence services aware of threats of interference.
French parliamentarians want to get closer to their British counterparts – “They are ahead on these subjects”, agrees Etienne Blanc. In early 2019, the Conservative Party’s human rights commission called for the closure of the Confucius Institutes installed in the bosom of universities in the United Kingdom, pending a general audit. In France, the General Inspectorate of Higher Education and Research has never commissioned a mission on these tools of influence from Beijing, which take advantage of the material difficulties of academic Chinese studies to establish themselves.
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