The President of the Republic condemned, this Saturday, May 4, the multiplication of blockades of universities such as Sciences Po, by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Emmanuel Macron condemns “with the greatest firmness” the blockades at Sciences Po and in the universities of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, actions which “prevent debate”, he judges in an interview with La Provence and La Tribune on Sunday published this Saturday May 4.
“I understand very well that what is happening today, particularly in Gaza, is upsetting – France is also calling for an immediate ceasefire – but preventing debate has never helped resolve a conflict. “, underlines the Head of State.
Emmanuel Macron finds it “completely legitimate and even healthy and reassuring that our youth can say that international news affects them and that they debate it”, but “to order an establishment to have this or that policy by force and blocking, preventing other students from accessing an amphitheater on the pretext that they are Jewish, this is not the Republic,” he insists.
The president is therefore “favorable” to the evacuation by the police of blocked universities “at the request of the establishments”.
The bias: Sciences Po… after the mobilization, time for debate – 02/05
“They prevent debate”
According to him, the students who block the establishments are “politicized. Certain groups, like La France insoumise, considered that this was a relevant way to lead the fight. It is simply counterproductive and unacceptable that, in the name of their fights, they prevent debate,” he says.
The police evacuated pro-Palestinian activists from Sciences Po Paris on Friday, quickly putting an end to the occupation of the prestigious establishment.
Several gatherings and blockades have taken place in recent days on Sciences Po sites and in universities, in some cases leading to the intervention of the police, echoing an ongoing mobilization on several campuses in the United States.
