translated by Deren Ertas
This article was originally published in French on Le Monde on March 4, 2021.
Translator’s Note: In the past two months, Emmanuel Macron’s Minister of Higher Education and Research, Frédérique Vidal, has commenced a witch-hunt against French universities. Under the unfortunate title of “Islamo-leftism,” she is attacking academics whose research is located in the field of “postcolonial studies.” The charge against them is that they threaten the unity of French society. Macron is following along the dangerous footsteps of Orban, Duda, and Bolsonaro—to name only a few—in curtailing academic freedom. The text translated below is a petition drafted by academics from the United States and elsewhere expressing their concerns with the steps taken by Vidal.
We write to express our profound concern about the recent request of Frédérique Vidal, the Minister of Higher Education and Research, asking the National Center of Scientific Research (Centre national de la recherche scientifique—CNRS) to launch an investigation on “Islamo-leftist” intrigues in French universities. Continue reading “Islamo-leftism: “We cannot fail to underline the resonance with the most somber moments of French history””