France: the Olivier Duhamel affair creates a stir at Sciences Po
Political scientist Olivier Duhamel at Sciences Po, May 19, 2016, in Paris.
Stephane de Sakutin AFP / Archivos
Text by: Laurence Théault
4 min
Things are blowing hard at Sciences Po, the director of the prestigious school of political science, Frédéric Mion, is targeted by calls for resignation after admitting that he had been alerted in 2019 of charges of incest against Olivier Duhamel, ex -President of the body that oversees the Parisian Institute of Political Studies (IEP).
The famous constitutional scholar was, through the presidency of the National Foundation for Political Science (FNSP) one of the influential leaders of Science Po. And before that, within the elite school, he taught for long years.
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On Monday, when these accusations were revealed, the director of Sciences Po Paris said he was "
in shock
".
He then expressed his "
amazement
" by discovering through press articles, very serious facts alleged against the former president of the National Foundation for Political Science.
However,
Le Monde
revealed Thursday that Frédéric Mion had been aware of these accusations for two years.
In 2019, the former socialist Minister of Culture, Aurélie Filippetti, teacher at Sciences Po Paris, learned from two relatives of Olivier Duhamel that the latter, honorary professor of Sciences Po, was accused of sexual abuse of his stepson at the end of the 1980s, reports the daily.
She then decides to inform Frédéric Mion.
According to our colleagues from
Le Monde,
Frédéric Mion was content to retort "
It's true, I did not hit.
I did not hear what this person was trying to tell me.
I should have gone to find Olivier Duhamel.
I was inconsistent and I lacked discernment.
"
In an internal message, this time, Frédéric Mion wanted to explain himself Thursday afternoon: "S
y tangible proof, without specific elements, I could hardly imagine that this rumor could have the slightest foundation
".
"
I turned to someone close to Olivier Duhamel, who told me firmly that this rumor was unfounded,
" he continued.
"
I also made sure, internally, that no criminal act had been the subject of a report during the years when Olivier Duhamel had taught in our house
", further writes the director of the school. .
A climate of silence that plagues the school
Affirming to have learned Sunday evening by Olivier Duhamel himself that a book implicating him would be published during the week, he assures to have discovered the "
reality of the crime
" which is reproached to him only the next day, by reading the press.
Revelations that were "a violent shock": "
My amazement at the statement of the facts revealed was not feigned
", assures the director of Sciences Po.
►
Also to listen: Duhamel affair: incest, a phenomenon that remains taboo
A group of students, led by the Unef and Nova unions or even Garces, the feminist collective of Sciences Po, gathered Thursday on rue Saint-Guillaume to denounce a “
complicity
”, implicating Frédéric Mion.
The collective speaks of an open secret.
As Director of Sciences Po, should Frédéric Mion have activated Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, obliging all officials to denounce a risk of infringement?
The students accuse Frédéric Mion of lying.
Thomas Le Corre, president of the Unef of Sciences Po, who asks for the resignation of the director, evoking an omerta in which Sciences Po participated.
In an open letter, a collective “Mion resignation” explains that impunity must end and will involve the resignation of all those who guarantee it, starting with Frédéric Mion.
"
We ask the management to shed all the light on this affair which scandalizes us and splashes our house once again
", also reacted the CFTC of Sciences Po. Asked about a possible resignation of Frédéric Mion, his entourage indicated that the current director had no intention of resigning.
(With
AFP
)
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