Duhamel affair: students again demand the resignation of the director of Sciences-po

They don't intend to stop there.

Nearly a hundred students gathered this Monday at noon in front of Sciences-po Paris to again demand the resignation of its director Frédéric Mion.

They accuse him of having lied about Olivier Duhamel, a former leader targeted by an investigation for rape of a minor.

"We are there to put an end to the omerta and to the patriarchy, even if Mion does not want to, we are there", they intoned on the megaphone in front of the institute of the rue Saint-Guillaume.

#sciencespo against the patriarchy, for the end of the omerta.

After the revelations, after the emotion, take action so as not to have to read thousands of #metooincest testimonials.

Thank you to those who speak, who act.

pic.twitter.com/6ASSgYX06q

- Raphaëlle Rémy-Leleu (@RaphaelleRL) January 18, 2021

Since the revelation of the Duhamel affair, the hashtag #Miondemission has flourished on social networks.

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In an open letter published last Wednesday on the Liberation site, more than 500 students, professors and employees of Sciences-po had requested his departure.

"We learned that there had been a lie in this affair, we cannot trust the director of the establishment", explains Baptiste, a third year student unionized at Solidaires, in front of Sciences-po.

"This resignation should also be the first step in deeper changes, in particular for better support for victims of sexual assault," he said.

Frédéric Mion was alerted in 2019

After expressing his amazement, the director of Sciences-po, Frédéric Mion, admitted to Le Monde that he had been alerted in 2019 to accusations of incest targeting Olivier Duhamel, former president of the body that oversaw the institute of Parisian political studies.

He then explained that he contacted a relative of Olivier Duhamel who would have certified that the rumors were unfounded.

"Frédéric Mion, who was aware of the facts, decided not to say anything, not to make an investigation: he let Olivier Duhamel continue to give his inaugural lessons, it breaks the bond of trust with the institution", estimates Gabrielle, master 1 student.

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Olivier Duhamel has been replaced by Louis Schweitzer, the former boss of the Renault group, elected interim president of the National Foundation for Political Science (FNSP).

In an interview with our newspaper, he felt that Frédéric Mion "must remain" at the head of Sciences-po.

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