One month after the cancellation of a Palestine conference scheduled for November 13 and 14, tensions are easing but unity remains fragile at the Collège de France. The decision divided faculty, sparking debates on academic freedoms and the institution's role. Organized by Henry Laurens and the Carep, the event was relocated to the center's Paris premises.
At the Collège de France, a prestigious institution founded five centuries ago, the atmosphere is gradually calming after the uproar from the cancellation of a conference titled 'Palestine and Europe: Weight of the Past and Contemporary Dynamics.' Scheduled for November 13 and 14, the series of talks was co-organized by Henry Laurens, holder of the chair in contemporary history of the Arab world, and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (Carep). Following the cancellation, Carep hosted the event in its Paris facilities, featuring speakers like former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, along with French and international Middle East specialists.
The 47 chair-holding professors, elected to teach 'knowledge in the making,' were divided by this deprogramming. For some, it was a wise initiative; for others, a serious infringement on academic freedoms. An anonymous professor notes that unity, though fragile and crossed by disagreements, is being preserved within the tight circle of faculty. Administrator Thomas Römer postponed an interview with Le Monde, waiting for 'things to calm down a bit.'
This unprecedented affair questions the operations and prestige of the Collège de France, where collegiality appears to have been lacking in handling the event. Interviewees avoid overly open comments, emphasizing the need to maintain internal cohesion despite lingering indignations.
