Streisand effect: demonstration. This is a conference that had not so far been the subject of an ambitious communication campaign, nor aroused, as far as Le Figaro could judge, particular reactions... but which has suddenly hit the headlines. If the goal was not to make too many waves, it failed.
As part of a university diploma (DU) of the secularism referent, that is to say a continuing education on the management of the religious fact, proposed by the Faculty of Arts of the Sorbonne, the pedagogical director of the curriculum Pierre-Henri Tavoillot invited the anthropologist of the CNRS Florence Bergeaud-Blackler to come and give a conference on the theme of his latest book, a study devoted to the Islam of the Muslim Brotherhood and its levers of influence in France (Brotherhood and its networks , Odile Jacob, 2023). Pierre-Henri Tavoillot, lecturer in political philosophy at the Sorbonne, has indeed taken the habit of proposing in addition to the course offer of this DU, a monthly public conference given by a public figure committed to the subject. Following in the footsteps of Rabbi Haim Korsia and philosopher Luc Ferry, Florence Bergeaud-Blackler was invited to speak in this context on Friday, May 12.
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Only the intervention, scheduled since February, had to be postponed at the last minute at the request of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Béatrice Perez. On 5 May, the latter asked the organisers to "postpone" the holding of the event, so as not to "throw oil on the fire" during the exam period, in a university context marked by significant tensions following the social movement against the pension reform. Pierre-Henri Tavoillot assures, however, that the rectorate of the Sorbonne had so far never questioned the security conditions of the event, and Florence Bergeaud-Blackler, who had relayed on Twitter on May 2 a registration link to attend the conference, says she has not seen any message circulating calling for the event to be disrupted. Questioned by Le Figaro, Sorbonne University is content to indicate laconically that "the conditions of organization were not met".
Wave of indignation
Surprised by the dean's decision, Pierre-Henri Tavoillot immediately asked to swap Florence Bergeaud-Blackler's conference with that of Jean-Michel Blanquer, scheduled for June 2. At the same time, the speaker chose to publicize the decision to suspend her intervention. The anthropologist, in fact, has already been confronted several times with the reluctance of the academic world regarding his work: in 2019, the University of Aix-Marseille had refused to guarantee the security of one of its conferences, forcing him to use the services of a private security company; And in 2014, another institution asked him not to announce a conference so as not to cause trouble. After the publication of her book on the Muslim Brotherhood, she was placed under police protection following death threats she received on the internet.
The suspension of Friday's conference sparked controversy, and Florence Bergeaud-Blackler received the support of several right-wing elected officials. "Distressing and to say the least, very worrying to see the French university bow its head in the face of Islamist pressure. The fight against barbarism must be waged everywhere, especially where freedom of expression should be sacred!" wrote Bruno Retailleau, the president of the LR group in the Senate, while MEP François-Xavier Bellamy assured her of his "total support", recalling the threats and invective she has been subjected to because of her work.
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Following this wave of indignation, the Sorbonne finally accepted this morning Pierre-Henri Tavoillot's proposal to exchange the dates of the last two public conferences planned as part of this DU, and Florence Bergeaud-Blackler's intervention will therefore take place from 18pm to 20pm on Friday, June 2nd. The rector of the Sorbonne has agreed to chair the session, which will close this training on secularism.