Disciplinary Investigation in France: Israeli Statements by Benoit Huou
Benoit Huou, a contracted lecturer working at the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) university in Toulouse, France, began to undergo disciplinary investigation due to his statements about Israel. Huou, who teaches mathematics at TSE, made statements criticizing Israel’s attacks on Gaza before a lecture held on September 3. This situation was met with a serious reaction by the university administration.
In its written statement, the university administration emphasized that Huou’s words were in no way related to the course and that the principle of impartial conduct of the educational process was violated. In line with this statement, it was reported that an intra-university disciplinary investigation would be initiated against Huou. In addition to being suspended from duty, Huou was also banned from his scientific research journal at the lecture held on September 3 with the participation of approximately 200 students. LancetHe cited an article published in .
The article included estimates that nearly 200 thousand Palestinians would die due to Israeli attacks by the end of 2023. Huou shared this data with his students and expressed his condemnation of the “unprecedented scale” attacks. He also criticized the French government’s support for Israel and called for a boycott of Israel.
The spread of the lecturer’s speech on social media platforms led to complaints by some internet users to the school administration. French Minister of Higher Education and Research Sylvie Retailleau also participated in these discussions. Retailleau framed Huou’s criticism of Israeli attacks as “anti-Semitic” and argued that students should be “protected against all forms of discrimination, including especially anti-Semitism.”
Lecturer Huou’s suspension was met with great reaction by social media users. Many people found this situation against academic freedom of expression and emphasized that Huou’s right to express his thoughts should be defended.
