Death threats, insults, harassment... To the attention of those who would have voted for Emmanuel Macron or Marine Le Pen in the first round, students from Sciences Po have shown reactions that are virulent to say the least.
Le Figaro
interviewed seven students to understand how the election was experienced in the IEPs of Paris, Grenoble, Toulouse, Rennes and Lyon.
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“
Interesting
”
debates
in Paris
The students interviewed by
Le Figaro
reported a deep disparity as to the possibility of a dialogue between divergent opinions, in particular between the capital and the other IEPs.
In Paris, the size of the Sciences Po campus has apparently made it possible to establish enlightening debates, if we are to believe the testimonies.
A meeting between all the youth representatives of each party was an opportunity for a confrontation of ideas, as reported by Jean, a master's student.
“
It was a good debate because they knew their subject and respected the exercise of a fair confrontation of ideas, despite the short time we had.
»
“
In addition, many posters have been posted, mainly those of Yannick Jadot, Anne Hidalgo, Jean-Luc Mélenchon – who came to Sciences Po in September, and Emmanuel Macron
”, explains Jean.
Militancy more isolated in the regions and strong Melenchonist representation
If the militants are numerous in the IEP of regions, the debates were not so important, according to the seven testimonies collected.
In Grenoble, Marie, a student, noted an extremely active militancy, "
without really debating
", in favor
"particularly of
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Yannick Jadot and Emmanuel Macron, but in reality, it was mainly about invitations to going to meetings more than initiating discussions
”.
Marie explains that there are only two unions on the Grenoble campus, one of which is far left, and the other is apolitical.
In Rennes, Marc also observed many activists in favor of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, supported by the Solidaire union which is “
openly anti-fascist
”.
“
There is such a stranglehold on the left that the elections have not changed the impossibility of a confrontation of ideas
”.
On the billboards, no right-wing candidates and essentially the posters of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Yannick Jadot.
"
If I put a leaflet from Pécresse, for example, or from the UNI
(student union affiliated with the LR party, editor's note)
it would be immediately withdrawn, because it does not fit into the accepted mould
"
.
“The far-left union is so powerful that the administration can't do anything when you complain.
We have already had death threats in the toilets with the writing "a faf, a bullet", and they threatened us to bring their antifa friends"
Martin, student at IEP Lyon
In Toulouse, Manon did not note any conference or significant meetings, but the promotion of Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the group conversation of the promotion.
“
There is a minority on the group which monopolizes it to impose their ideas on us, and to encourage us to participate in their militant actions, in particular in terms of the protection of LGBT or feminism.
Those who vote on the left have shown themselves a lot
”.
As for the Lyon campus, Martin explains that throughout the campaign there was a form of permanent opposition between the popular primary and the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
“
It was as if the election was just about these two left-wing movements.
They learned that students were part of Generation Z
(the youth movement with Éric Zemmour, editor's note)
, and began a real witch hunt to find out who was a "facho" and campaigned for the Nazi and racist extreme right
" .
Disappointments and castigation of the “useful vote”
On the Grenoble campus, "
no particular action
" the day after the first round, but "
on the group, everyone said that it was the fault of the voters of Yannick Jadot and Anne Hidalgo
", according to Marie .
A debate would have been organized then, to discuss the candidate on whom to postpone his vote, in the second round.
A disappointment mélenchoniste shared in all the IEP, according to the testimonies, and manifested by blockages on the campuses of Paris and Lyon.
In Toulouse, students have created another group conversation called "
debates
", to defend the boycott of the second round.
"
They also encouraged people to get involved in the Extinction Rebellion association
", for civil disobedience.
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The reactions were much more virulent on the Lyon campus, where insults and threats on social network groups multiplied.
A
“not surprising”
process , according to Martin, who explains the existence of a file at Sciences Po Lyon.
The main union, Solidaire, which is on the far left, would list from the beginning of the year the students considered
"fachos"
.
“They are smart because the file is inaccessible;
however, everyone knows it exists and everyone knows about the blacklisted ones.
Me, for example, I am on file, I am considered a Nazi, I voted for Jean Lassalle”.
On the card in question would be registered, according to a close to the union, the mention
"facho suspected"
or
"confirmed".
“Sometimes you just have to disagree on a sentence, or even dress a certain way to be suspected,”
continues Martin.
A student association, Place au Débat, was created in 2020 by students to promote
“reflection while respecting opinions”
.
But
“their conferences are regularly boycotted because of the presence of a student registered in the association”
.
And this, while speakers from all sides are invited, such as Nathalie Artaud, Damien Abad or Najat Vallaud-Belkacem.
“The far left union is so powerful that the administration can't do anything when you complain.
We have already had death threats in the toilets with the writing
“
a faf, a bullet
”
, and they threatened us to bring their antifa friends
,” laments Martin.
Relative pluralism in the regions, greater representativeness in the capital
According to a survey carried out by student Maxime Peyronnet, out of a sample of 1,356 students at Sciences Po, nearly 55% of students say they are on the left or very on the left, to which must be added the 12.2% of center left and the 7% of anarchists, at the national level.
Overall, Jean-Luc Mélenchon's popularity is slightly above the French average, with 24.3% joining Sciences Po, up from 22% in the first round.
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On the other hand, Emmanuel Macron collected only 10.3% of the votes among the students questioned, against 19.8% for Yannick Jadot.
Asked about their first choice, regardless of the useful vote, the students who took part in the survey overwhelmingly voted Yannick Jadot in Grenoble (29%).
It is in Saint-Germain-en-Laye that Jean-Luc Mélenchon pleases the most, with 29.3% of adherents to his ideas.
