Heating Up Culture Wars, France to Scour Universities for Ideas That ‘Corrupt Society’

New York Times ^ | November 18, 2021 | Norimitsu Onishi and Constant Méheut

[karpov]

PARIS — Stepping up its attacks on social science theories that it says threaten France, the French government announced this week that it would launch an investigation into academic research that it says feeds “Islamo-leftist’’ tendencies that “corrupt society.’’

News of the investigation immediately caused a fierce backlash among university presidents and scholars, deepening fears of a crackdown on academic freedom — especially on studies of race, gender, post-colonial studies and other fields that the French government says have been imported from American universities and contribute to undermining French society.

While President Emmanuel Macron and some of his top ministers have spoken out forcefully against what they see as a destabilizing influence from American campuses in recent months, the announcement marked the first time that the government has moved to take action.

It came as France’s lower house of Parliament passed a draft law against Islamism, an ideology it views as encouraging terrorist attacks, and as Mr. Macron tilts further to the right, anticipating nationalist challenges ahead of elections next year.

Frédérique Vidal, the minister of higher education, said in Parliament on Tuesday that the state-run National Center for Scientific Research would oversee an investigation into the “totality of research underway in our country,’’ singling out post-colonialism.

In an earlier television interview, Ms. Vidal said the investigation would focus on “Islamo-leftism’’ — a controversial term embraced by some of Mr. Macron’s leading ministers to accuse left-leaning intellectuals of justifying Islamism and even terrorism.

“Islamo-leftism corrupts all of society and universities are not impervious,’’ Ms. Vidal said, adding that some scholars were advancing “radical” and “activist” ideas. Referring also to scholars of race and gender, Ms. Vidal accused them of “always looking at everything through the prism of their will to divide, to fracture, to pinpoint the enemy.’’

[karpov]

Full article. American universities play the same role. The article does not mention university promotion of homosexuality and transgenderism.

[Liz]

Here we see the brilliance of using critical thinking......

Frédérique Vidal, the minister of higher education, said in Parliament that the state-run National Center for Scientific Research would oversee an investigation into the “totality of research underway in our country.....and would focus on “Islamo-leftism.’’ Mr. Macron’s leading ministers accuse left-leaning intellectuals of justifying Islamism and even terrorism.

“Islamo-leftism corrupts all of society and universities are not impervious’’ Ms. Vidal said. Referring also to scholars of race and gender, Ms. Vidal accused them of “always looking at everything through the prism of their will to divide, to fracture, to pinpoint the enemy.’’

[Stravinsky]

Given French attitudes and laws regarding church/state, this is a clever way for the government to attempt to go about the job of putting down the latest dangerous form of leftism that has infected the USA and Europe. Most of the “scholars” causing problems aren’t Muslim, but they do tend to support the recent growth of Islam in France, because, like so many of the ideas they push on university students, they view it as a tool to bring down the established order.

[TimSkalaBim]

fears of a crackdown on academic freedom

Yeah, well, academics have been cracking down on our freedom pretty hard for a long time. And we don't have the privilege of tenure.

[Little Ray]

Sounds like the Nazis (Godwin’s law, I know) and ‘volkishness.’ Have to get rid of all of the degenerate art and ideas.