A week after he requested police intervention on the night of April 24-25 to end the student occupation at the request of Sciences Po’s Palestine Committee, the interim administrator of the facility is speaking for the first time about this mobilization. in support of the Palestinian people. On Friday, April 26, Jean Bassères negotiated a compromise with the students that ended the new occupation. He responds to numerous accusations that accuse him “dropped everything” in one “active minority”according to Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
Why did you decide to open negotiations with the students who blocked Sciences Po on Friday when you sent the police to evacuate them two days before?
On Friday night we were in a somewhat unusual situation. Personally, I was convinced that the intervention of the police within Sciences Po would be a difficult operation that would not make it possible to end the blocking actions. It is true that I had made the opposite decision two days before, the context seemed very different. The alternative was therefore to find a negotiation solution based on a compromise that would eventually allow the mobilized students to make commitments beyond the occupation itself. It is this narrow path that I have chosen.
The students have pledged that there will be no further disruptions to teaching, exams and facility life. But naturally I remain cautious. If this commitment is not followed, consequences should be drawn. Calling the police was a difficult decision on the evening of Wednesday, April 24, and one that a significant part of the academic community is also challenging. I did this by weighing the risks and being confident that the intervention would be carried out without jeopardizing the safety of the students. The risk was maintaining employment over time.
At the end of this negotiation, you announced the cancellation of the referral to the Disciplinary Department, which began on April 17th, and this attracted numerous critics. Did you give in to some form of blackmail by mobilized students?
I have read and heard many inaccurate things about these negotiations. I insist that the suspension of the recommendation to the disciplinary section only refers to the events that took place from April 17 to 19, when the students loudly demonstrated on the stairs of the presidency and school management. I decided to postpone the referral due to facts that are not so serious.
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