“Supporting Palestine is not a crime.” A banner marks the beginning of the mobilization in favor of a cease-fire in Gaza by students from Sciences Po Toulouse, Tuesday 30 April, who demonstrated at their facility. Most of the Institutes of Political Studies (IEPs) were disrupted by general assemblies and rallies, as in Lyon, or even blockades, as in Rennes, Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines) and Strasbourg, as a result of actions taken the day before. at the Sorbonne in Paris.
At the request of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who wanted “fast reaction”the police immediately intervened to evict the students who had set up tents in the main courtyard of the prestigious university.
Since the installation of the first camp in the inner courtyard of Sciences Po in Paris, on Wednesday 24 April – evacuated on the night of the CRS – and mirroring the movement taking place at Columbia University in the State of New York, the movement in support of the people of Gaza has grown, although it is mainly limited to the IEP and several universities.
One of the relocated Sciences Po Paris campuses, located in Menton (Alpes-Maritimes), was occupied until early Tuesday morning by about thirty students who decorated the facade with the Palestinian flag. The campus director, Youssef Halaoua, announced his decision to close the premises in a message to students “until further notice” and take distance courses.
“Discrimination and Pressure”
“We want Sciences Po to use the rhetoric of the International Court of Justice (which called on Israel in late January to prevent possible genocides) and the UN, to end the dual approach we are witnessing regarding (First) Ukrainian-Russian war (and on the other side the war waged by Israel in Gaza) and take a strong stand against any discrimination and pressures students face”write, in a press release, the students gathered for a general meeting in Menton.
In Reims (Marne), another relocated campus of the Paris institute, students had to decide on Tuesday evening about a possible new action at the end of the week in case the meeting organized by the provisional administrator Jean Bassères on Thursday 2 May did not meet their expectations.
This town hall − or the great debate as practiced in Anglo-Saxon institutions − was announced after negotiations between the students who occupied Sciences Po on Friday 26. It is designed as a time for exchanges between students, professors, researchers and staff, 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 attend. Those from Menton are no longer invited, due to the occupation of the night, suggests k World the leadership of Sciences Po.
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