Storm in Sciences-po Grenoble (Isère).
Since the discovery, Thursday morning, of collages on the entrance facade of the Institute for Political Studies (IEP), where one could read "Islamophobia kills" but also "fascists in our lecture halls", l he atmosphere on campus has become extremely tense.
On social media, photos of these writings have been deleted after generating public outcry.
Because these collages, usually used by feminist collectives, also mention the names of two IEP professors, called to resign in these accusations as revealed by Le Figaro.
The public prosecutor of Grenoble, Eric Vaillant, announced yesterday to have ordered the opening of an investigation for "public insult to an individual by word, writing, image or means of communication to the public by electronic means", and "degradation or slight deterioration of property intended for public utility or decoration by inscription, sign or design ”.
Before the judicialization of the case, the management of the establishment had quickly reacted in an email addressed to the students that Le Parisien was able to obtain.
“This morning insulting and anonymous posters were plastered on the walls of Sciences-po Grenoble which specifically attack two teachers of the establishment.
These vile attacks are unacceptable.
Sciences-po Grenoble condemns them in the strongest terms ”, we can read.
But not enough to calm an extremely tense atmosphere between students and teachers, and even between members of the teaching staff.
To find the origin of this violent action, we have to go back to the beginning of December.
Klaus Kinzler, one of the two professors targeted by the attacks on Thursday, has been teaching German “for 25 years at the IEP”.
He then joined a working group made up of teachers and students to organize the upcoming equality week, the title of which is “Racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism”.
During long exchanges by email in this group, he expressed his disagreement with the association of these terms and especially that of Islamophobia.
A “far-right discourse” for the students
Among these numerous arguments, he judges that "one can doubt that an academic debate worthy of the name can take place on a catch-all concept and invented from scratch (...) I categorically refuse to suggest that the (imaginary) persecution of Muslim extremists (and other lost Muslims) today really has its place alongside millennial and almost universal anti-Semitism or racism ”.
These (long) exchanges, which we have been able to consult and which were published by Klaus Kinzler on his website, are only for a lecturer, teacher-researcher in “History of the colonized Maghreb”.
In deep disagreement, Klaus Kinzler threatens to leave this working group.
He adds a copy of the other professor posted this Thursday, Vincent T., lecturer.
He intervenes in several media as a political scientist and provides at the IEP an optional course on Islam and Muslims in France.
And his help to the German colleague will turn against him.
He writes to the working group which is tearing itself apart: “Charlie Hebdo was accused of Islamophobia.
Samuel Paty was accused of being Islamophobic (...) Blasphemy is Islamophobic.
Secularism is Islamophobic.
"
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In her opposition to the German teacher, the lecturer receives support from the Laboratoire Pacte, in which she works, and which depends on the social sciences research branch of the CNRS.
Faced with the irruption on the media scene of remarks aimed at disqualifying the Human and Social Sciences, Pacte, Laboratoire de sciences sociales wishes to proceed to a series of clarifications: https://t.co/Qs38rk2xak #islamogauchiste pic.twitter.com / i7TmVo3w7V
- Pacte Laboratory (@PACTE_grenoble) March 3, 2021
Via a press release of December 7, then March 3, the management of Pacte considers in particular that "to deny, in the name of a personal opinion, the validity of the scientific results of a colleague and of the entire field to which she belongs, constitutes a form of harassment and violent moral injury ”.
This will lead the German associate professor to apologize by email.
Faced with the emerging controversy, the terms Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are deleted from this working day on equality.
"A decision of the direction", take offense to the students.
“Since the scandal of sexual violence at Sciences-po, the climate has deteriorated between the union and management,” observes a student.
Because the students will take hold of this disagreement, following the publication of the mails by Klaus Kinzler.
At the beginning of January, the Union Syndicale (US) Sciences-po Grenoble, the majority student union here, born of a split from the UNEF with its left wing, condemns the words of the German professor "considering that Islamophobia does not" has no place in our institute ”.
And ask management to react.
For the “US” union and the struggling Sciences-Po Grenoble collective, their professor's emails are “discourse anchored to the far right”.
For both teachers: distance learning and sick leave
“Before that, I was treated well as a liberal but never more.
I saw this campaign as defamation, it's unheard of.
With what has happened recently, including Samuel Paty, this is not the time, ”says the German aggregate who is on sick leave.
The controversy does not end there.
Last episode before the bonding, on February 22, the US union calls for testimonies that the two teachers will not digest.
They are looking for students who observed Islamophobic remarks during Vincent T.
Given the Islamophobia problems of some IEP professors, Union Syndicale wishes to withdraw this CS from ...
Posted by Union Syndicale Sciences Po Grenoble on Monday, February 22, 2021
If this teacher no longer wishes to speak, he then writes an email to his students that we have been able to read.
He asks “all the students who belong to the union known as“ Union Syndicale ”to immediately quit my classes and never set foot there again (...) My person is so unbearable to them that they are ready to put my life on the line. danger ".
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If he apologizes, in turn, a few days later, the US will file a complaint for union discrimination and defamation, a complaint rejected by the prosecution.
“We often launch calls for testimony on different topics.
We wanted to manage it internally and these teachers made it public, ”defends Thomas Mandroux, a 4th year student, the president of the union who would have received less than ten testimonies.
He denies any involvement of members of his union in Thursday's collages.
Aged 23, he also wants management "to demand an apology from these teachers or initiate procedures to put an end to our endangerment."
He says he has been attacked from all sides by the far right since the media coverage of this affair.
According to Marianne, Vincent T. who says he is privately supported by his management, would have filed a complaint.
The management, whom we were unable to contact, asked him to provide the courses remotely, confides a close source.
“I received 150 support emails from students and alumni, it moves me.
I'm not angry with these stupid students (sic) but rather against the lack of support from my colleagues, ”he regrets over the phone.
On the side of the more politically “neutral” students that we contacted, some consider “that these teachers, who we know are right-wing, with a rather oriented course, messed up (sic)”.
"There are divisions within the IEP, all of this has consequences that nobody wanted," one of them blows.