Paris’ Sciences Po university was closed for the day on Friday after a debate between the institute’s leadership and students on the war in Gaza failed to ease tensions, prompting protesters to occupy it overnight.
The elite political sciences university this week became the center of a wave of protests at several schools in France over the war and academic ties with Israel, although not on the same scale as seen in the United States.
A group of around 70 students were occupying Sciences Po’s main buildings in central Paris on Friday morning after having spent the night there, Jack, one of the protesters, told Reuters in a text message, adding: “By the way, the negotiations with leadership are making no progress.”
Sciences Po did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Local newspaper Le Parisien and Radio France Inter, citing an internal memo, reported the university was asking staff to work from home as university buildings were closed.
Sciences Po’s director on Thursday rejected demands by protesters to review the schools’ relations with Israeli universities, prompting protesters to continue their movement with at least one person entering a hunger strike, according to a student speaking on behalf of the protesters.
Anti-Israel activity at Sciences Po university
The student protesters at Sciences Po have been among those most vocally anti-Israel on French campuses. In March, Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli accused pro-Palestinian students at the university of “screening” Jewish students‘ entry to the school’s Émile-Boutmy amphitheater.
Chikli went on to draw parallels between the historical treatment of Jews in Europe and how the present Jewish students were treated.
The French Jewish student union, Union des Etudiants Juifs de France, also reported that Jewish and Zionist students had been blockaded from the hall.
Michael Starr contributed to this report.