This painted a large target on the backs of the teachers, especially after the beheading of Samuel Paty, but no disciplinary action was taken. Any such action would have been…”Islamophobic.”
“Sciences Po Grenoble: 17 students released after accusing their teachers of Islamophobia,” translated from “Sciences Po Grenoble : 17 étudiants relaxés après avoir accusé leurs professeurs d’islamophobie,” Valeurs Actuelles, November 27, 2021 (thanks to Medforth):
They come out unscathed. The students of the Institute of Political Studies (IEP) of Sciences Po Grenoble were released by the disciplinary commission of the University of Clermont-Auvergne, which prosecuted them for having participated in the dissemination of accusations of Islamophobia against professors. This is what was reported in a press release from the management of Sciences Po’s IEP, which “takes note” of the verdict, reported by our colleagues from Le Monde on Friday, November 26. Only one student received a suspended sentence of temporary exclusion from the disciplinary section of the University of Clermont-Auvergne. This sanction, however, comes in the context of another defamation case. The student accused a member of the IEP board of directors of sexual harassment.
Last March, seventeen students branded two of their teachers as Islamophobic, not hesitating to put up posters about them at the entrance to the IEP. This action was widely relayed on the web, in particular by the UNEF, and which had created a lively controversy. The union subsequently recognized an “awkward and dangerous” mistake. The Union Syndicale Sciences Po Grenoble also widely relayed the case. A few days later, the director of the IEP condemned the posting, while explaining that one of the professors concerned had made “extremely problematic” comments about Islam. The prosecution eventually opened an investigation for “public insult” against seventeen students.
In May, the Minister of Higher Education, Frédérique Vidal, called for “sanctioning” these students for their “unacceptable” behavior. And this, after receiving a report from the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research (IGESR) which called for disciplinary proceedings to be initiated against them. The government had also pointed to the “endangerment” of teachers after posting their students. Despite this, the university’s disciplinary committee unanimously decided otherwise.
