On the Sciences Po Menton campus, the events linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will have punctuated the entire school year.
Between controversial posts, demonstrations, political recovery and press articles galore. So it is not surprising that for the last municipal council before the summer, Tuesday evening, the subject was (once again) invited into the debates.
Via a written question from the Menton opposition group with you. Jean-Christophe Storaï recalls the deployment of a Palestinian flag on the facade of the school on April 29. THE ““recurring anti-Semitic acts and calls for hatred by many students on campus” since October 7. The RN MP’s requests to close the campus, while the town hall pays a “annual subsidy of 200,000 euros to pay the rent”.
“Great firmness”
The elected official also mentions “the investigation opened by the Nice prosecutor against the Sciences Palestine students (since renamed Palestine UTS., editor’s note) for apologizing for terrorism”. Before getting to the facts: “Why can’t the building on Place Saint-Julien accommodate a new project for a worthy higher education establishment, and not that of the campus made up of certain hateful students who support Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization?”
Regretting that the opponent “wishes to surf on this debate”, Yves Juhel first points out that on the morning of October 8, elected officials from all sides gathered on the forecourt of the town hall to express their outrage at such a terrorist attack. He states that “Hamas is a terrorist movement, period.”. Then insists on the fact that relations were maintained with local and national officials at Sciences Po throughout the crisis.
“Absolute vigilance, zero tolerance”
In a letter dated June 18 – a call to find a lasting solution – the provisional administrator of the institution, Jean Bassères, indicated to the mayor that he had responded to the internal upheaval with a ““great firmness”. By maintaining dialogue as much as possible, but with clear limits set in response to the students’ demands.In this context of great tensions which goes beyond the framework of Sciences Po, I have been very clear about my commitment to sanctioning any anti-Semitic act or remarks. My line of conduct is simple: absolute vigilance, zero tolerance. Any fact which may have been characterized by our prior internal investigation unit – chaired by a member of the Council of State – will be the subject of legal proceedings.”writes the manager. And if calm has been restored in recent weeks, Jean Bassères says he is actively preparing for the next school year. In order to avoid “that such excesses do not happen again.”.
On all Sciences Po campuses, specific training on the issues of racism and anti-Semitism will be offered. As well as a compulsory course on the culture of freedom of expression in France will be created.
Other actions will be specific to the Menton campus: creation of new teaching on the history of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; workshops on stereotypes in the Mediterranean taught by Israeli, Lebanese and Egyptian professors; establishment of an annual cycle of “Menton for Peace” conferences; strengthening of the partnership with Camp des Milles. Or even presentation of the National Museum’s exhibition on the history of immigration “Jews and Muslims, from colonial France to the present day” on campus in mid-September. Two of the three exhibition curators will, moreover, be the guests of honor for the next ceremonial start – scheduled for September 27.
“Five Jewish students were a bit mistreated, and we worked in collaboration with the leaders of the Jewish community to have common actions”recognizes the mayor, after reading the letter aloud.
His position has not changed, however: in his eyes, the reputation of Sciences Po is crucial for the city.Grandes écoles, among others in the medical field, wish to settle in Menton to create a university center with Sciences Po, the IFSI, the IUT, the hotel school… I completely agree: Sciences Po is an opportunity for Menton ; many cities were close to stealing it from us.”
“Late reaction”
Jean-Christophe Storaï, for his part, is not giving up. “The management reacted very late. The students you are talking about were arrested, it should never have happened. That is the reality. There was no racism, just anti-Semitism!”
Yves Juhel immediately hammers home that “All elected officials are 150% against anti-Semitism”and that he never doubted it. Exalted to the point of making a small shortcut (it was indeed a standard of Palestine), the mayor assures us: “If I had to take down the Hamas flag myself, I would have done it.”
