Around 100 students occupying the main lecture hall of the elite French university Sciences Po as part of a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Tuesday, March 12, were accused of barring entry to a Jewish student and insulting her.
The student – a member of the Union of Jewish Students in France (UEJF) that claims a national membership of 15,000 – was greeted with shouts of "Don't let her in, she's a Zionist", the union said on X.
The incident sparked condemnation at the highest level of government, with French President Emmanuel Macron, himself a Sciences Po alumnus, telling Wednesday's cabinet meeting that the remarks were "unspeakable and perfectly intolerable." Aurore Bergé, minister for gender equality, wrote on X that "what's going on here has a name, anti-Semitism", while Minister for Higher Education Sylvie Retailleau encouraged the student to file a legal complaint.
But students on the ground said the government should be more circumspect in its condemnation. "It's really sad that unverified information is taken directly to the French president," said one student who declined to be named. "We don't tolerate any form of anti-Semitism."
Another student said that the Jewish student had been denied access to the lecture hall because "she previously intimidated pro-Palestinian students" at the protest.
The student had been the only representative of the Jewish student union to be barred from entering. "Other UEJF members were able to take part in the debates," said the student who declined to give her name.
France – which is home to the world's largest Jewish population after Israel and the United States and to Europe's biggest Muslim community – has seen a rise in anti-Semitic acts and pro-Palestinian protests since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.