Frédérique Vidal tries once again to extinguish the fire of criticism under which she finds herself.
The Minister of Higher Education and Research reaffirms "regret", this Monday on RTL, that her request for an investigation into "Islamo-leftism" at university has turned into "controversy".
Its priority "is the question of the students", she assures, after having asked the CNRS for an investigation on "Islamo-leftism" at university.
On Islamo-leftism: "There is no need to argue when a Minister of Research asks for an inventory of research on a subject," says @VidalFrederique in #RTLMatin @BSportouch pic.twitter. com / gJ35Naq52i
- RTL France (@RTLFrance) February 22, 2021
On Saturday, more than 600 academics (teachers, researchers ...) demanded his resignation in a column published in the columns of the newspaper "Le Monde".
After an eventful week, government spokesman Gabriel Attal on Sunday showed his willingness to end the controversy.
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For her part, Frédérique Vidal reaffirms that she wants "an inventory on this subject.
"There is no need to make a controversy," she said at the microphone of the RTL morning.
"I am an academic, I will always defend the freedom of research […] and at the moment always the students because they are the ones who suffer the most from this crisis", she assures us.
For her, this investigation is nothing unheard of and investigations are called for in the number of "tens per year".
"I ask [...] an inventory of research on these different radicalities in universities", reaffirms the minister, who deplores a "controversy for 12 seconds out of 22 minutes of interview in which (she) speaks for more than 10 minutes from students and 10 minutes from research ”.
1,200 students benefited from the "psy check"
Seeming to be in a hurry to brush aside this controversy, the minister insists: “today, what concerns me is the issue of students […].
How do we ensure that students can get out of this crisis while not being desperate ”.
The "psy check" promised to young people by the government concerned the first week of February 1,200 students, then 2,000 students per week, she said.
These young people are "taken care of" in a course of care by city psychologists.
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In addition, more than 75% of universities have for the moment modified their timetables to allow students to return to face-to-face lessons one day a week.
Some 90% of students are affected by these new timetables.
Among them, 60% return, 40% prefer to stay in person, said the minister.
