Pro-Palestinian mobilization: blockades planned in France, the ministry on alert

This Thursday, May 2, student mobilizations in support of Gaza and Palestine continue in the Political Institutes of France. At the same time, the Minister of Higher Education spoke with university presidents, reminding them of the need to maintain order.

After a first publicized demonstration at Sciences Po Paris last week and the blocking of the emblematic Sorbonne this Monday, pro-Palestinian mobilizations now seem to have reached a new milestone and are tending to spread to the rest of the country. This Thursday, May 2, they will continue in the country's Sciences Po.

Blockages are already planned in the Political Institutes (IEP) of Saint-Etienne, Rennes, Strasbourg and Menton. Toulouse and Amiens should also be the subject of gatherings. “We are really very far from an active minority” explains Eléonore Schmitt, spokesperson for the Student Union on franceinfo. The mobilization "went a step further in terms of radicality. We held public meetings and conferences, but which led to nothing" she regrets.

Today, Sciences Po Paris students are called upon to debate. The school's partnerships with four Israeli universities are particularly in question. “These are universities that have developed certain military technologies, these are universities where soldiers openly carry weapons at the moment. I am paying tuition fees to an institution like Sciences Po, which remains silent regarding that and for whom it’s not even a thought,” laments Lara, a student at Sciences Po Paris on franceinfo. Students who reject any exploitation: “We know what we do, we know what we say” launched students from Lyon this Thursday, still in the columns of franceinfo.

In Lille, the Sciences Po campus is blocked this Thursday morning. “There is no intrusion inside the school, no breakage outside” indicated the director of the establishment, Pierre Savary to AFP. For their part, student unions such as Unef or the Student Union called for “intensifying mobilization in places of study”. "The ENS- Jourdan campus blocked by students in support of Palestine. Strength to you" welcomed this Thursday morning Rima Hassan, candidate on the LFI list for the 2024 Europeans on her X account (ex-Twitter).

General assemblies are also underway in several Parisian universities and schools to prepare for the aftermath of the mobilizations. The Unef, the NPA Jeunes and Poing Levé are calling for an interfacs general assembly at the end of the afternoon, before a rally in front of the Pantheon, Friday at 2 p.m. according to information from franceinfo.

The Minister of Higher Education, Sylvie Retailleau, asked university presidents this Thursday, May 2, to ensure “maintaining public order.” “I ask you to use the fullest extent of the powers conferred on you by the Education Code,” she indicated during a meeting with university presidents. An interview intended to “collectively remind us that the university is a bastion of democracy and structured debate, that it is neutral and cannot be exploited” specifies the ministry.

Sylvie Retailleau now wishes to support the managers of the establishments concerned and “plan a timetable” in order to “reestablish a republican framework”. Finally, she reminds them that they have the possibility of issuing a “temporary ban on access to the establishment” to a student who threatens another.