Over 300 academics, including Jean-François Bayart and Judith Butler, condemn the cancellation of the 'Palestine and Europe' colloquium at Collège de France. They view it as an unprecedented attack on academic freedom, following pressures from the Ministry of Higher Education. This decision paves the way for an era of institutional censorship.
A collective of over 300 academics, researchers, teachers, and students expresses deep concern over the cancellation of the colloquium 'La Palestine et l’Europe: poids du passé et dynamiques contemporaines,' scheduled at Collège de France. This decision followed a controversial article and direct pressures from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research.
The signatories, from prestigious institutions such as the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland), the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, the University of Amsterdam, the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris, or Queen Mary University of London, denounce political interference in research. 'Under the pretext of ensuring scientific integrity, the ministry has legitimized political intervention in the field of research, in contradiction with its primary mission: to protect the independence of academics and the plurality of scientific approaches,' they write in their op-ed published in Le Monde.
The speakers were unjustly discredited based on amalgamations and unfounded accusations, despite their expertise and international recognition. The collective states that research relies on method, critique, and argued debate, not on a 'political balance' dictated by power. 'By confusing scientific evaluation and ideological control, this ban opens the way to an era of institutional censorship, where media slanders would suffice to muzzle university reflection,' they emphasize.
They refuse for France to follow this slope and for Collège de France to become the receptacle of such a drift, asserting that the mission of research institutions is to enlighten society, not to support power.