Sciences Po Paris, the prestigious “elite school” shaken in the spring by controversies linked to the mobilizations of pro-Palestinian students, announced measures this fall to avoid a response, in the midst of the process of appointing a new director.
“The year has been complicated with the departure of director Mathias Vicherat and the consequences of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” admitted Jean Bassères, provisional administrator of the school since the end of March, during the school’s back-to-school press conference on Wednesday, September 4.
The school has been without a director since the resignation in March of Mathias Vicherat, who was brought before the courts in a domestic violence case, and in turmoil due to controversies linked to the mobilizations of pro-Palestinian students. Yet another problem for a school that has been accumulating setbacks and scandals surrounding its directors for the past ten years.
The occupation of an amphitheater by students on March 12, which gave rise to accusations of anti-Semitism, had stirred up controversy and moved the highest levels of government, with the arrival of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, a former student at the establishment. Several mobilizations of pro-Palestinian students, echoing mobilizations in American universities, followed by police interventions, had then taken place in the spring, inflaming the political debate.
The management had decided at the end of May to refer eight students to the disciplinary section, after the occupation of this amphitheater. Jean Bassères specified on Wednesday that “25 other students from the Paris, Reims and Menton campuses were also referred to this same section after blocking the holding of exams.”
In order to “better train” its students on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Sciences Po has presented several measures. Starting in September, “a course on freedom of expression will be given to first- and second-year students,” said Jean Bassères. The objective? “To reinstate the culture and ethics of debate within our institution. This involves showing students the rules of freedom of expression in France, and beyond that, we will have teaching with twelve lectures that will be given on the conflict in the Middle East, the Near East, its historical origins and its different configurations,” explained the provisional administrator. Furthermore, “we will strengthen our mechanisms to combat discrimination, anti-Semitism and racism, for which we obviously have zero tolerance, with a mandatory module to raise students’ awareness of these issues,” he added, also mentioning “experiments to resolve conflicts amicably.”
At least six candidates
The goal is “that we learn to dialogue and debate better again”: “A mission is underway” and a report is expected in October, according to Jean Bassères. The other hot topic concerns the appointment of a new director, expected on September 20. Asked about the process in progress, Jean Bassères assured that he had “no information”. According to an AFP count, at least six candidates have been selected to be interviewed this weekend, Thursday and Friday.
The candidates are the former director of the Lille Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po Lille), Pierre Mathiot; the former Secretary of State Juliette Méadel; the director of Sciences Po Aix, Rostane Mehdi; Arancha Gonzalez, dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po and former Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs; Luis Vassy, chief of staff of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné and former classmate of Emmanuel Macron at the ENA; the historian and anthropologist François-Xavier Petit, former ministerial advisor to Michel Sapin and François Rebsamen.
The school should announce on Friday the names of the candidates selected in a “short list” at the end of these auditions. The latter will have to be decided by the institution’s governing councils: the council of the Institute of Political Studies (IEP), which will meet on September 19, and the board of directors of the National Foundation of Political Sciences (FNSP, which oversees the school) at a meeting on the 20th. In the event of an agreement, the two councils will transmit their proposal to the Minister of Higher Education, who must validate it. The appointment of the new leader will then have to be made official by a decree of the President of the Republic. A timetable, however, set before the summer, before the dissolution and resignation of Gabriel Attal’s government.