The Paris regional authority has temporarily suspending funding for Sciences Po, one of France’s most prestigious universities, after it was rocked by pro-Palestinian demonstrations, reports The Guardian.
“I have decided to suspend all regional funding for Sciences Po until calm and security have been restored at the school,” Valérie Pécresse, the rightwing head of the greater Paris Île-de-France region, said on social media on Monday.
She took aim at “a minority of radicalised people calling for antisemitic hatred” and accused hard-left politicians of seeking to exploit the tensions.
Regional support for the Paris-based university includes €1m (£850,000) earmarked for 2024, a member of Pécresse’s team told Agence France-Presse.
The university’s acting administrator, Jean Bassères, said he regretted the decision. “The Île-de-France region is an essential partner of Sciences Po and I wish to maintain dialogue on the position expressed by Mrs Pécresse,” he told the French daily Le Monde.
In an echo of demonstrations at many top US universities, students at Sciences Po have staged a number of protests over the Israel-Hamas war and ensuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
France is home to the world’s largest Jewish population after Israel and the US, as well as Europe’s biggest Muslim community.
University officials called in police to clear a protest last week. On Monday police broke up a student protest at Sorbonne, another top French university, demanding an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.