With Sciences Po, the Palestinian cause stifled by a festival of one-upmanship and shortcuts

POLITICS – Slippery terrain. For several days, mobilization movements in support of Gaza and the Palestinian people have multiplied in French faculties and schools, electrifying the political debate less than 40 days before the European elections.

On Thursday, a handful of students briefly disrupted access to a university site in Saint-Etienne, while others blocked the higher school of journalism (ESJ) in Lille. So many new mobilizations which echo, with those at Sciences Po or La Sorbonne, the movement underway on several campuses in the United States.

In France, the stated objective of these activists of the Palestinian cause is to alert on the dramatic situation in Gaza and denounce the links of France, like their universities, with Israel. Their message is, however, stifled by the festival of caricatures, shortcuts and one-upmanship fueled by the political class, eager to seize the phenomenon.

Right-wing caricatures

On the right and the far right in particular, there is competition in critical comments regarding these students. Valérie Pécresse, for example, chose to eliminate subsidies from the Île-de-France region to Sciences Po Paris (one million euros). A rare decision. She accuses “ a minority of radicalized people calling for anti-Semitic hatred, and exploited by the LFI and its Islamo-leftist allies. ” Nothing less.

The words are similar on the National Rally side. On CNews, Tuesday, where spokesperson Sébastien Chenu denounced the “ direction doormat of Sciences Po “, ” 200 far-left Wokist activists ” And “ the LFI robbery on our higher education establishments. ” Or in the Assembly, a few hours later, when the deputy for Loir-et-Cher Roger Chudeau castigated during questions to the government “ Islamo-leftism » or even “ Islamo-Fachism “, Who ” shows its true face, the hideous, abject face of anti-Semitism. »

Beyond these jokes, the infamous content of which aims to discredit those concerned, some elected officials even go so far as to make dubious assertions. Even within the so-called moderate right. On Wednesday May 1, the LR president of the Hauts-de-France region Xavier Bertrand launched into a diatribe accusing, among other things, the demonstrators of “ question partnerships with certain universities in Israel » – which is true – and to prevent certain Jewish students from accessing courses.

“ Since when has there not been the possibility for a Jewish association to hold a conference? Pluralism is no longer respected. You report the news every day, you know the Jewish students who are prevented from staying in class or joining classes, you know exactly how it happens », he said, without specifying his remarks with specific cases, despite several reminders from the journalists present on set.

In reality, what Xavier Bertrand presents as a generality seems to be based on the testimonies of students worried about the ambient climate surrounding the conflict in the Middle East and on a specific case, before the blockages in the universities. At the end of March, a Jewish student claimed to have been prevented from accessing a pro-Palestinian conference at Sciences Po Paris. After contradictory testimony delivered by camera, the government took legal action.

The outbidding of the rebels

Because in this context, the majority does not want to be left out. Anxious to cut short criticism of laxity, and not allow themselves to be overwhelmed by the right, several ministers banged their fists on the table, even if it meant also falling into caricature. This, in the wake of Gabriel Attal quick to denounce “ an active and dangerous minority » and to demand their expulsion by the police.

“ When we go from the river to the sea and throw away the State of Israel, these are obviously anti-Semitic remarks. »for example denounced the Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti last Sunday on BFMTV, in reference to the slogan “ from the river to the sea », taken up by the activists. And what does it matter if the students concerned, like the voices supporting the mobilization, denounce all forms of anti-Semitism and advocate, for the overwhelming majority, the creation of a Palestinian state at peace with Israel.

It must be said that in this flammable context, activists are also victims of their best transmitters. Insoumise France, which has made Gaza and the Palestinian cause its first campaign axis for the Europeans, does not miss an opportunity to step up to defend these young people who are mobilizing and to ridicule those who are not doing enough in their eyes. All this, with the risk of making comments that open up to criticism and further unleash passions.

“There is some use by politicians” esteemed by the HuffPost Robi Morder, president of GERME (Study and Research Group on Student Movements), and associated researcher at Laboratoire Printemps. “ On the government side, we tend to make the matter bigger, which allows us to denounce those on the other side,” he specifies. And in fact, nothing is being done to calm the situation, in a sort of well-defined division of roles.

Rima Hassan, the Franco-Palestinian lawyer and main face of Manon Aubry’s campaign, for example attracted the wrath of many political leaders by calling for ” uprising » in the faculties, after the blocking of Sciences Po. In another register, the temptation of the rebels to pass off anyone who criticizes the student movement as a “ unconditional support » from the Israeli government, is probably not the best way to ease the pressure. Nor to make the substantive speech heard.

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