Following the tragic events of October 7, 2023, particularly virulent mobilizations took place at the Paris Institute of Political Studies as well as in several provincial IEPs, where demonstrations were often accompanied by blockades.
While similar mobilizations have occurred in other institutions such as the Sorbonne, the ENS or the EHESS, this pro-Palestinian fervor is striking because the IEPs occupy a unique place in French higher education. Situated halfway between universities and grandes écoles, they were created to rebuild the nation in the aftermath of major crises. Have they today betrayed this mission, as some editorialists have said? [1]?
At the origin of Sciences Po: rebuilding the nation
Sciences Po was founded in 1871. That year, France was struck by two tragedies: the defeat against Prussia and the Paris Commune. The idea then took hold that the elites had to be morally rearmed, as Ernest Renan argued (La réforme intellectuelle et morale, 1871). One man took him at his word: Emile Boutmy. He undertook to gather support and funding to create a private school. This would become the École libre des sciences politiques, whose statutes were filed in December 1871.
Founded on an elitist and patriotic project, this school intended to fill a gap: to ensure that the elites had a better understanding of the political realities of the contemporary world. The School offered a two-year curriculum that covered most disciplines: geography, anthropology, diplomacy, constitutional law, military history. Success was there. The School quickly became a recruitment pool for senior administration. In 1886, Boutmy added a colonial section, anticipating by three years the creation of the Colonial School (1889).
Building on its success, the School saw its donations increase. The number of students increased from around a hundred to nearly 600 at the end of the 1891th century. In XNUMX, Boutmy created the emblematic Grand Oral test, which would become the trademark of this training, along with its initiation ritual.
The IEP model
Having become indispensable, the Boutmy School suffered the price of its success. The Popular Front criticized it for its elitism and threatened to nationalize it. At the Liberation, the students were accused of having contributed to the disaster of 1940 and participated in the Collaboration, which did not do justice to all those who entered the Resistance.
Faced with the Communist Party demanding nationalization, the provisional government of General de Gaulle intended to preserve a model that had proven itself. The ordinance of October 9, 1945 therefore proposed a compromise: the School became public under the name of the Institute of Political Studies (IEP) but its administrative and financial management was entrusted to a private foundation, the National Foundation of Political Sciences (FNSP).
The same ordinance created the ENA and generalized the IEPs throughout the territory. The first provincial IEP was created in Strasbourg in 1945. It was followed in 1948 by those of Grenoble, Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse. In total, ten IEPs were created, in addition to that of Paris, the last in Fontainebleau in 2022.
These institutions are managed by a director assisted by a board of directors, they issue their own diplomas while having the possibility of preparing national or university diplomas. Above all, the IEPs are free to recruit their students. The training lasts three years. Their missions are set by a decree of December 18, 1989: 1/ train senior executives in the public and private sectors; 2/ develop scientific research in political and administrative sciences.
Contemporary mutations
The end of the Cold War and the entry into globalization profoundly disrupted the university landscape. International mobility and competition between institutions forced IEPs to renew themselves. The courses were extended to five years to align with the master's model, while annual stays abroad became widespread.
For its part, anxious to preserve its preeminence, Sciences Po Paris embarked on profound reforms, notably under the direction of Richard Descoings (1996-2012): expansion of premises, diversification and internationalization of training, creation of off-site campuses, increase in the number of students (notably foreigners, who represent almost half of the workforce), increase in registration fees, modification of the entrance exam, policy of positive discrimination, etc. A certain delusion of grandeur took hold of the institution, denounced in 2012 by the Court of Auditors.
Beyond institutional reforms, it is a whole cultural change that is hitting the IEPs. Unlike in 1871 or 1945, it is no longer a question of rebuilding the country: the priority is to turn towards the world. The IEP of Aix, for example, prides itself on being a "school resolutely open to the World", while the IEP of Grenoble emphasizes "the place given to the international".
In Lille, the director's word indicates that "Sciences Po Lille is a large public school, multidisciplinary, very strongly oriented towards the international."
Far from the patriotic values of the founders, the IEPs now embrace the values of the present time. On its home page, the IEP of Bordeaux claims to defend four types of values in four themes: "international dimension, equal opportunities, social and environmental responsibility, living together".
In Strasbourg, the page "Our values" includes the following list: "social diversity and democratization; equality and solidarity; internationalization and European roots; academic openness and demands".
The return of ideologies
Have the IEPs become "political re-education institutes", as Klaus Kinzler, victim of a cabal at the IEP in Grenoble, maintains? [2] ? The formula is undoubtedly excessive, but it is clear that the atmosphere has changed.
Faced with audiences that are becoming more diverse and feminized, decolonial ideology and gender theory have gained momentum. Western societies tend to be seen as inherently racist and sexist. At the IEP in Paris, a “charter of gender studies” has been established and students can obtain an “advanced certification in gender studies.” The scientific spirit suffers from this, as shown by the impossibility of maintaining a course on the theories of evolution.[3]. Moreover, the fight against sexism does not prevent students from celebrating "World Hijab Day".
In this context, an ideological standardization is developing. At Sciences Po Paris, between 2002 and 2022, students who classify themselves on the left went from 57% to 71%, and 55% admitted to having voted for Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round of the 2022 presidential election. [4]Vindictive, sometimes aggressive, militancy is all the more widespread as the competitions tend to favour high school graduates involved in associations.
Not all students are radical activists, of course.[5] But the feeling of belonging to an enlightened elite, in charge in particular of the fight against fascism, does not encourage moderation. In addition, social networks make it difficult to express minority or moderate opinions.
Tensions then reverberate throughout the institution. The succession of Olivier Duhamel as president of the FNSP, whose resignation was provoked by the revelations of his daughter-in-law Camille Kouchner (La familia grande, 2021), revealed significant divisions around the candidacy of political scientist Nonna Mayer, accused of having promoted the concept of Islamophobia [6]Outside, we have also seen the emergence of private schools which, following in Boutmy's footsteps, intend to compete with the IEPs, without much success so far. [7].
The Palestinian cause, revealing a deep crisis?
This situation helps us to better understand the passions surrounding the Palestinian cause, perceived essentially from a decolonial and victim-based angle.
While campuses have often been fascinated by violent revolutionary movements, the indulgence toward Hamas is troubling, as it stands at odds with the values that students claim to promote.
While empathy for Palestinian civilian victims is understandable, the students' slogans go far beyond a simple humanitarian and pacifist fiber. The slogan "Israel assassin" was not accompanied by "Hamas assassin". The ease with which the students took up the accusation of genocide is all the more striking given that no mobilization has come to denounce the situation of Muslims in China or Burma. As for the calls to boycott universities, they only concern Israeli universities, never universities in autocratic countries.
Despite everything, the polarization on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has the merit of alerting people to the situation of the IEPs. In a unique event in the annals of Sciences Po, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal went in person to the board of directors of the FNSP to make a particularly severe statement: "the fish rots from the head." [8]
The existence of an "Islamo-leftism", once denied by the CNRS and university presidents, seems difficult to dispute. At a time when France is facing numerous internal and external challenges, it might be time to bring the IEPs back to the founding values that have made them successful.
