Your Guide to the March 12 Blockade

Your explainer for the March 12 blockade: what happened, why, and what we can expect in the future.

Credit: Author.

By Amēlija ČEIČA. Campus Life.

On Wednesday, March 12, students woke up to pictures of trash bins blocking the bright red campus door. Emails from professors moving classes online began to arrive as the first blockade this academic year prevented access to campus. The rest of the day passed in mild confusion as students were unsure of the format of classes, and access to campus resources, while further action by mobilized students was decided in periodic General Assemblies held in front of the campus. Here’s a quick explainer as to why the blockade occurred, what happened, and what we can expect in the future.

The blockade was organized to express support for mobilized students on the Le Havre campus, and three recently suspended “comrades” from Paris. In a WhatsApp message, mobilized students listed their demands: “an end to partnerships with Israeli universities complicit in genocide, an end to repression against mobilized students, an official statement from Sciences Po condemning Israel’s crimes”, and the resignation of Luis Vassy, the director of Sciences Po.

Asked what response from the administration they hope to see, a student organizer said they understand that the Reims campus administration, led by Crystal Cordell, “doesn’t have a lot of power”. However, they wish for their demands to be raised with the Paris administration, and that the Reims campus leadership “takes the power they do have and shows their stance” to “[end] the seven ongoing sanctions against students.”

The organizers provided information about other CROUS locations and publicly accessible libraries on the Sciences Po Reims en Lutte Instagram account to mitigate the disruption to students who rely on these services. The Pôle Santé remained accessible for scheduled appointments. Nevertheless, some students voiced their confusion on how to access certain services or what the blockade would mean for midterms scheduled for Wednesday. Thus, the information channels used by the mobilized students certainly failed to reach everyone.

Decisions about further action were made in General Assemblies held every few hours in front of the campus. The assembly at noon gathered around 50 students, many choosing to cover their faces with scarves or medical masks. Sitting in a circle on the cold pavement, student organizers shared details of a meeting with Crystal Cordell held just moments ago. Information was conveyed in both English and French.

According to the students, Ms. Cordell underscored the toll of the blockade on both students and staff, highlighting that this action will lead to a busier make-up week in the lead-up to final exams, among other concerns. Additionally, a discussion reportedly arose between student organizers and Ms. Cordell about the effectiveness of blockades as a form of direct action, with Ms. Cordell emphasizing institutional barriers to student demands, while students were quick to point to the resignation of Mathias Vicherat, the previous director of Sciences Po who had stepped down amid pressure from the public and mobilized students.

A student who had participated in the meeting admitted that it might have been productive “in regards to the Reims campus, but not with the institution as a whole, which is what we’re trying to achieve”. According to the student, Ms. Cordell had committed to sending a report to Jeanne Lazarus, the Dean of the Undergraduate College, including information about the movement’s demands and concerns about disciplinary sanctions against students.

The noon General Assembly ended with a vote on whether to continue the blockade, with 2 votes against, 13 abstentions, and 29 students voting for continuation. Asked about the effectiveness of General Assemblies in gauging student opinion, an organizer said “I don’t think it’s the most effective, but it’s as grassroots as it can get. We try to communicate the next GAs as best as we can”. They additionally point out that “last year we tried to organize so many [polls], and in the end, the majority still approved our actions – 60, 70% [..] If we want people to be engaged in the issue, they have the mediums to express that: all group chats, all the Instagrams, emails, whatever they want or need. There’s only so much we can do.”

At 14:00, an email from campus administration informed the student body that “courses scheduled [that] afternoon and evening will be online”, while a subsequent email at 19:00 informed that the blockade had been lifted and courses would resume on campus on Thursday per the usual schedule. As for the student movement, a General Assembly was scheduled for Thursday, March 13. In interviews, a student organizer repeatedly emphasized that “if you want to participate in the movement, it’s always very open”, no matter if you speak French or English. “We try to include everyone and everyone’s opinion is welcome” at the General Assemblies.

During the General Assembly on Thursday, students debated further ways to stay mobilized. Although no concrete action was agreed upon, the consensus to continue remains, with aims at expanding their movement outside of Sciences Po. Participants also discussed the calls for the resignation of Professor Dominique Reynié. The 1A EURAF political science lecturer is accused of “Zionism, being anti-abortion, and anti-LGBTQI+,” a student present at the meeting tells Sundial. A communiqué about this latter subject is available here.