Sciences Po University in Paris has rejected demands by pro-Palestine protesters to review its relations with Israeli universities, Reuters has reported. Interim director Jean Basseres’ announcement prompted some students to say that they would start a hunger strike in protest.
Students at several French universities, including Sciences Po and the Sorbonne, have blocked or occupied their institutes over Israel’s war against the Palestinians in Gaza, although not on the same scale as seen in the US.
“I clearly refused to set up a working group on our relations with Israeli universities and partner companies,” Basseres told reporters after a town hall meeting with students and staff. Dozens of students promptly started a sit-in inside the university to protest at the decision.
“A first student has started a hunger strike, in solidarity with Palestinian victims, but even more so to protest against the way Sciences Po is repressing students who want to show their support for Palestine,” said Hicham, a student at Sciences Po and one of the pro-Palestinian protesters there.
More students would join the hunger strike, he told reporters, demanding that the university’s leadership agrees for its board to hold a public vote on reviewing partnerships with Israeli universities.
The town hall meeting was one of the conditions set last week for Sciences Po students to call off their protests over Israel’s alleged genocide in the coastal Palestinian enclave. Many had also asked the university to cut all ties with the occupation state.
According to Basseres, he was aware that refusing to put together a working group to review relations with Israel could anger some protesters. “I’m calling on all to show a sense of responsibility,” he said, as he urged protesters not to disrupt exams set to start next week.
The elite political sciences university would work on how best to organise internal debate on contentious topics, he added. The university already has rules to review its partnerships.
“The last ties that should be severed are the ones between universities,” insisted Arancha Gonzalez, who heads Sciences Po’s School of International Affairs.
READ: Paris council suspends funding for elite university after pro-Palestine demonstrations
