Conditions which are “no longer met to guarantee the serenity of the debates”, in particular because of the “worrying rise in international tensions in recent days”. It is for these reasons that the University of Lille announced this Wednesday April 17 the cancellation of a conference planned for this Thursday within its walls, in the presence of the leader of La France insoumise Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the Palestinian activist and LFI candidate for the European elections Rima Hassan. With the theme “news in Palestine”.
This conference, organized by the student association “Free Palestine”, was “authorized at the end of last week”, in accordance with the Education Code guaranteeing the framework of “freedom of information and expression”, specifies the University of Lille. It was to take place in an amphitheater on one of the campuses, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq.
But the organization of this event did not please everyone, far from it. The Renaissance du Nord MP Violette Spillebout, unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Lille in 2020, called for “this propaganda conference” to be canceled. “It is urgent to put an end to the tragedy in Gaza, but it is not with those who represent the most violent anti-Semitism and the desire to destroy Israel that the debates will progress towards peace,” she said. insurgent on X.
Same slogan for the LR president of the Hauts-de-France region Xavier Bertrand, notably calling into question the organizing association, “Libre Palestine”. “We cannot tolerate, in a French university, such a conference by France Insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Rima Hassan who, through the ‘Free Palestine’ logo, deny the existence of the State of Israel “, he castigated.
The “Free Palestine” association under fire from critics
At the center of this exchange of arms is therefore the Free Palestine association, created in November 2023 at the University of Lille in the wake of the attacks of October 7 and Israel’s response to Gaza. Its logo, more particularly, representing a map grouping Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under the name “Free Palestine”, has generated strong criticism even within the ranks of the PS, former partners of LFI within the Nupes. “When we are a political party, we do not display ourselves with logos that deny the existence of the State of Israel. It’s as simple as that,” Raphaël Glucksmann, head of the list of political parties, said on TF1. socialists in the European elections.
The socialist deputy Jérôme Guedj, among the most severe in his camp against LFI since October 7, was also very critical of this choice of logo. “At the bottom right of this poster for this meeting, there is a small logo with a map of Israel with “Free Palestine” written on it. I’m not paranoid, but when I hear people explaining that it We need a free Palestine from the sea to the river, what does that mean for the future of the State of Israel?”
In a press release sent to AFP by LFI, the Libre Palestine association indicated that its logo “in no way denies the existence of Israel”. “We have simply mobilized a map which represents a region of the world crossed by an undeniable process of colonization and whose definition of borders is an issue of unstabilized struggles”, she clarified, adding that she had “never promoted the hate or uttered anti-Semitic remarks.
LFI denounces “censorship” and reschedules the conference
In any case, France Insoumise was quick to rebel following the announcement of the cancellation of its conference in Lille. In a statement titled “Stop censorship”, Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s movement denounced an “instrumentalization by supporters of unconditional support for the Netanyahu government”, particularly attacking “the impulse of the PS deputy Jérôme Guedj”. LFI also emphasizes that the Libre Palestine association is “registered in the prefecture and approved by the university”, and that the conference was organized “in strict compliance with the rules established by French universities”. Before charging the university management, which she accuses of having shown itself “incapable of resisting the pressures which attack freedom of expression, undermine university and academic freedoms and aim to silence voice of peace in the Middle East.
The Insoumis do not intend to stop there: the movement, which has made the denunciation of the Israeli offensive in Gaza one of the main themes of its campaign for the European elections, has announced that its conference on Palestine would still be held in Lille this Thursday, but in a “new place”. “We will not be silent,” insists Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s movement.
A new skirmish between LFI and the rest of the political spectrum, with public higher education at the center of the game. The University of Lille also seems to have had little appreciation of being virulently attacked by both camps. “We can only regret, in this context, the pressure exerted on the educational and scientific autonomy of higher education establishments,” she wrote in her press release, affirming that she “will continue to defend the values of science, intellectual debate and listening, far from caricatures and preconceived ideas. Before concluding by calling “each and everyone to be careful in the comments that will be made”.