Sciences Po director Luis Vassy defends police intervention amid campus protests
Sciences Po Paris director Luis Vassy defended his decision to call police to clear a student occupation of an amphitheater in April, saying on France Inter on June 3 that "students refused dialogue." The protest opposed the now-abandoned Yadan bill against antisemitism. Vassy said he faces personal attacks including chants of "Vassy génocidaire" and called for calm.
Luis Vassy, director of Sciences Po Paris since 2024, defended his decision to call police to clear a student occupation of an amphitheater in April, saying on France Inter on June 3 that "students refused dialogue." The protest opposed the now-abandoned Yadan bill against antisemitism.
"C'est toujours mauvais que des forces de l'ordre interviennent, c'est une forme d'échec" (It is always bad for law enforcement to intervene, it is a form of failure), Vassy acknowledged, but added: "les étudiants ont refusé le dialogue" (the students refused dialogue). Seventy-six students occupied the amphitheater in April to protest the proposed law, which was subsequently abandoned. Police were called to remove the students, who were fined. The move drew criticism from 145 professors who signed a statement denouncing the repression.
Vassy reported being personally targeted with chants including "Vassy génocidaire" and "Vassy a du sang sur les mains" (Vassy has blood on his hands). "Je ne m'inquiète pas pour moi mais je m'inquiète vraiment pour la salubrité du débat public" (I am not worried about myself but I am really worried about the health of the public debate), he said. He called for calm: "J'appelle tout le monde à rester serein" (I call on everyone to remain calm).
"Sciences Po ne fait pas de politique" (Sciences Po does not do politics), Vassy asserted. "Il y a des débats, mais pas de crise" (There are debates, but not a crisis), he said, describing the school as "un espace de liberté" (a space of freedom). Vassy, a former diplomat and graduate of ENA in the same class as President Emmanuel Macron, said: "Sciences Po n'est ni de droite, ni de gauche" (Sciences Po is neither right nor left).
Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste defended Vassy on franceinfo, saying the school needed serenity. "Dire que la théorie du blocage ne fait pas partie du syllabus, ce n'est pas de l'autoritarisme" (Saying that the theory of blocking is not part of the syllabus is not authoritarianism), Baptiste said. "Bloquer un amphi ne fait pas partie d'une formation quelconque" (Blocking an amphitheater is not part of any training), he added.