French Senate mission warns about the rise of antisemitism in French universities and proposes changes for the upcoming school year

An information mission from the French Senate called for better “cooperation” between university officials and prosecutors in the fight against antisemitism in higher education. It also recommends “strengthening training” and “systematising sanctions,” ideally “by the next school year.”

The work of this “flash mission,” approved at the end of March 2024 by the Senate following incidents during the occupation of an amphitheatre at Sciences Po Paris, began at the end of April 2024, and was conducted by two rapporteurs, Pierre-Antoine Lévi and Bernard Fialaire.

Since the Hamas attack in Israel on 7 October, organisations such as CRIF (Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France) and politicians have regularly warned about the rise of an “atmosphere of antisemitism” in universities fuelled by the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

“We are no longer in an era of vigilance but in a period of reaction and action,” and “we ask the government to take into account the recommendations made as soon as possible, by the start of the next school year, to curb this phenomenon,” explained Bernard Fialaire at a Senate press conference.

The rapporteurs expressed “alarm at the resurgence, in many institutions, of a climate of antisemitism whose modes of expression have evolved due to the ideological polarisation associated with student mobilisations in favour of Palestine,” added Pierre-Antoine Lévi. “This atmosphere of antisemitism, difficult to detect, manifests in institutions as harassment, jostling, changes of seats in lecture halls, and the isolation of students when forming groups,” he detailed.

Among their eleven recommendations, the senators call for “generalising partnership agreements between higher education institutions and local prosecutors.” “The goal of strengthening these partnerships is to be more responsive,” emphasised Bernard Fialaire. The senators also highlight “the training that sometimes exists but needs to be more widely disseminated in universities where there is a lot of antisemitism born of ignorance,” according to Pierre-Antoine Lévi.

They also recommend “adding types of sanctions to report cases of racism and antisemitism, including temporary exclusion.” “Every time a university president or a head of a grandes écoles is aware of an incident, it must be reported,” they insisted.

Since 7 October, “76 antisemitic acts have been reported, 17 of which are subject to disciplinary proceedings,” stated the Minister of Education at the end of May 2024.

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