Illustrative photo of Pro-Palestinian protesters holding the edge of a large Palestinian flag as they gather in solidarity with Palestine, on the eve of the match between Italy and Israel for the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, in Udine northeastern Italy, on Oct. 14, 2025. (Credit: Stefano Rellandin/AFP)
The Collège de France has canceled a conference on Palestine that was to be held from Thursday to Friday, "in reaction to the controversy surrounding" the event, the school's administrator announced Sunday in a statement.
"The administrator of the Collège de France is obliged, as head of the institution and responsible for the safety of people and property as well as for ensuring the peaceful conduct of events held on the premises, to cancel the event," he said.
The Collège de France "does not advocate, encourage, or support any form of activism," the institution stated, ensuring its "strict neutrality ... regarding political or ideological matters."
In a response on X, Minister of Higher Education Philippe Baptiste called the cancellation "responsible."
"Defending academic freedom means defending a free, respectful, and pluralistic debate. That is the message I conveyed to the administrator of the Collège de France in recent days," he said.
The conference, titled "Palestine and Europe: Weight of the Past and Contemporary Dynamics," co-organized by historian Henry Laurens and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Paris (ACRPS Paris), was labeled a "pro-Palestinian" event by several public figures.
The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) denounced it as an "antisemitic fair" and pointed to the "distortion of a prestigious institution."
The association announced Friday that it had contacted the Minister of Higher Education about the matter.
In an article published about the event — which was to bring together academics and public figures such as Dominique de Villepin and Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories — Le Point magazine described it as a "pro-Palestinian echo chamber."
The outlet also raised concerns about the conference's co-organization by ACRPS, which it accused of maintaining ties with Qatar.
This article was originally published in French in AFP.
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