Par Euronews
Published on 24/11/2025 – 14:06 UTC+1
A controversy rocks the Lumière-Lyon II University, against the backdrop of the war in Gaza. It all started on September 19, when Le Figaro Vox publishes a column signed by 20 personalities entitled “Mr. President, you cannot recognize a Palestinian state without preconditions“, demanding in particular the release of hostages held in Gaza and the dismantling of Hamas.
The next day, Julien Théry, professor of History and researcher at CIHAM (History, archaeology, literature of medieval Christian and Muslim worlds) at Lyon 2 University, relays online a list of “genocidal to boycott in all circumstances“.
This publication designates the personalities who signed the column published in Le Figaro, including the presenter Arthur Essebag, the president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France Yonathan Arfi, the comic strip author Joann Sfar, and the philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy.
This list was originally published by Sophie Trégan, author of posts on Club Mediapart (blog section of the site), and accompanied by a text, on the Facebook page entitled “La Grande H.: Histoires & Idées”.
Convictions
Almost two months later, on Friday November 21, the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (Licra) denounced on X a “ignominious attitude“. “You can be a university history professor, believe yourself to be progressive, and make lists like we did during the Occupation. The call to boycott individuals is provocation of discrimination and violence“, protested the association, explaining that it was “available to each of the defamed persons to assist them in court.”
The next day, the president of the Republican Right group in the National Assembly and former president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region points out what, according to him, concerns “ordinary far-left anti-Semitism in our universities“.
The University of Lyon 2 reacted on Sunday via a communiquéclaiming to have read “with dismay” from the teacher’s Facebook post.
“We condemn with the greatest firmness the content of this publication, which in no way represents our university or the values it defends and transmits, replied a representative of Lyon 2. While recognizing to this colleague, who does not exercise any function of representing our establishment, an absolute right of expression on an individual and private basis, we are nonetheless very shocked by a process from which we completely dissociate ourselves.“Before finishing:”We will determine as soon as possible the necessary measures.”
The teacher defends himself in a stormy context
Faced with the scale of the controversy, teacher Julien Théry reacted on his Facebook profile, taking responsibility for his comments. “The minor officials of the hasbara (public communication technique or propaganda tool used by Israel, editor’s note) hunt in packs behind the very poorly named LICRA! By confusing of course “Jews” and “Zionists supporters of genocide in Palestine”… typically anti-Semitic confusion“, he stressed.
Lyon 2 University is not at its first controversy. At the end of March, an academic’s class was interrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The teacher then denounced a “Islamist entryism” according to him at work at the establishment. In May, a vice-president of the university resigned after taking positions on the war between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel.
