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< Back Is Big Pharma Killing Babies? Consumer Unease Rises in the Face of Johnson and Johnson’s Baby Powder Lawsuit By Jessica Cheng December 31, 2021 Reaching the status of becoming a household name is a goal that many brands attempt to achieve, even though only a select few succeed. Once this staple status is fulfilled, many brands will become well-established within the consumerist public and have a specific product that is unequivocally linked to the brand. For example, although there are many brands of instant macaroni and cheese in the United States, the most ubiquitous is Kraft’s. Likewise, for Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the talc-based baby powder sold in an iconic white bottle became the product that established and solidified the company’s wholesome image nearly over a century ago. Companies strive to become a household name because the status comes with a multitude of perks, such as automatic consumer trust. But what happens when a breach of trust occurs between the public and the brand? Formed over a century ago in 1886, the brand and pharmaceutical giant J&J has recently come under scrutiny for not only going through a lawsuit over the existence of asbestos in its talc-based baby powder, but also attempting to split its baby powder from the rest of its company via the establishment of a separate subsidiary. Although this split does not seem like a big deal at first glance, the numbers behind it would tell otherwise. The J&J Baby Powder offshoot, known as LTL Management, is valued at $2 billion — an amount that pales in comparison to the $440 billion that the entire pharmaceutical company is worth. Accounting for just $2 billion of its parent company’s value, the split guarantees that lawsuit plaintiffs will win smaller sums of money from LTL management than they would have with the J&J parent company. Although J&J denies that the creation of the subsidiary is related to the baby powder suits, the company is facing nearly 40,000 lawsuits alleging that its baby powders and other talc-based products contain asbestos, a carcinogenic substance. Evidence against J&J is growing, and thousands of individuals, predominantly women who have developed ovarian cancer, have announced that J&J did not warn them of the potential risks of asbestos contaminating the baby powder. Additionally, the March 2020 move to discontinue sales of their famous talc-based baby powder from the North American market paints a negative picture of the company. To counter this, J&J is denying that their baby powder contains carcinogens and continues to claim that the split has nothing to do with the suits. A 2018 investigation by Reuters, however, uncovered that the company was aware of asbestos in its talc-based products for several years but chose to keep the information undisclosed. This evidence, which includes internal documents between company leaders and other forms of verification of J&J’s knowledge, has aided in furnishing favorable lawsuit verdicts for the plaintiffs. The push to establish LTL Management, which would inherit most of J&J’s baby powder lawsuits, can be seen as a strategic move to retain funds for the parent company. Almost immediately after LTL Management’s inception, the subsidiary company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a costly and long process in which the debtor is able to negotiate with creditors for the terms of the loan without having to liquidate their assets. Even though J&J is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the corporation chose to split into two companies in Texas. The state has a controversial law called the “Texas Two-Step” that at its core is a restructuring method that companies can use to safeguard themselves in cases of mass tort litigation. While splitting into two companies in Texas, LTL Management chose to convert into a North Carolina Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), a business structure that safeguards its owners from personal responsibility for the company’s liabilities or debts, in order to file for bankruptcy. While many other states such as New Jersey do not have such archaic law which would most likely make the lawsuit much harder on the company, the Chapter 11 protection law in North Carolina momentarily pauses litigation against the bankrupt entity. Not only is the well-known pharmaceutical company undergoing lawsuits and creating a separate subsidiary for its baby powder, Johnson & Johnson is also separately splitting into two different companies: one focusing on consumer health products and over-the-counter drugs, and the other focusing on pharmaceuticals, medical instruments, and vaccines. While the company denies that the influx of lawsuits are the reasons for the company-wide split, which include the United State’s nationwide opioid crisis and the sunscreen suit involving Costco Wholesale, many legal scholars suspect that one of the motivations behind such a decision was because of the social and legal reckoning the company is currently facing. For context, J&J is one of the three leading drug distributors that are getting sued for their role in the United State’s nationwide opioid crisis. Over half a million people died from this crisis between 1999 and 2019, while 2020 ended with 69,000 deaths due to opioid overdose, a number likely aggravated by the pandemic. While most believe that there are a multitude of players to blame for the uptick in deaths as a result of the opioid crisis, blame continues to be shifted from manufacturers to distributors, from doctors prescribing the drugs to pharmacists filling prescriptions, etc. While progressing, these lawsuits do not seem to be reaching an end anytime soon. For most, Johnson & Johnson is a trusted brand whose products can be easily found in any local store. The many lawsuits the company is facing, however, raises questions about consumer safety and whether regulations of consumer products of private companies are too lax. While the public has confidence in the products of established labels, the multitude of lawsuits filed against J&J’s products are causing consumers to question the sanctity of such brands.

< Back Menton’s Senior Citizens Won’t Bite: Go Talk to Them! Bronwen Sutcliffe Shortly after arriving in Menton this August, I got the sense that the town’s older residents are not particularly fond of Sciences Pistes. For many students, this might not come as such a shock. After Integration Week, complaints echoed through the Old Town. As one woman eloquently put it, “Sciences Po drove us crazy until 3 in the morning !” The objections vary in subtlety, from frustrated sighs and muttered grievances to water-pouring incidents on the heads of unsuspecting Le Rétro-goers. The Old Town especially seems like a hotspot of animosity, being the nucleus of Sciences Pistes’ parties, protests and student life. Students’ feeling of unwantedness is all the more understandable after last spring’s barrage of reputation-tarnishing headlines. The campus was publicly denounced as “out-of-control” and even slated for closure by current far-right National Rally mayoral candidate Alexandra Masson. Multiple newspapers from Le Figaro to Nice-Matin seized on the controversy with a range of less-than-flattering qualifiers for Sciences Pistes’ “radicalism.” As a 1A, I didn’t experience the controversy first-hand. However, a few mildly unpleasant interactions with locals this September left me somewhat disheartened. I sought the feeling of belonging here and found myself longing for the effortless, unquestioned interactions of my life back home. But now, having mostly settled in, I can say that my first impressions were mistaken. Since then, everyday interactions with locals — especially sweet mamies and papis at the café or the supermarket — often become the highlight of my day. From discussing my home country with eager listeners to spontaneously learning a Mentonnaise dance with a troupe of senior citizens on the Promenade du Soleil, my fondness for this town has only grown. Curious to find out what Menton’s older residents really think of Sciences Pistes, I asked around. Many couldn’t offer a clear answer. Why? They felt they simply don’t interact with students enough to form a judgment. However, a group of three older Mentonnais offered some reassuring words. When asked whether they see Sciences Po as an asset to Menton, they replied emphatically: yes! They see it as promoting education and rejuvenating the town. As for the noise? Not a bother (though they admit they live further from campus). To them, noise is a sign of life, the youthful energy they remember from their own younger days. They also shared an appreciation for students’ initiatives, recalling how in 2020 a group of Sciences Pistes took action to provide delivery services for vulnerable community members. Attending Sciences Po’s 20th anniversary spectacle and seeing how many locals showed up only confirms this for me. Students and staff alike have been reaching out to the community and renewing public interest in the campus. As a 1A student who didn’t experience the heat of last spring, this article might come across as naive. Whether summer break and the 20th anniversary festivities de-escalated any animosities, I can’t say for sure. Yet experience and hope lead me to believe that resentment towards Sciences Pistes is exceptional amidst many welcoming and curious locals. We are on the right path — Sciences Pistes don’t need to change to win the approval of locals. They simply need to continue being empathetic, engaged and lively, taking every opportunity to share the ummah spirit with the town. On an individual level, we can continue building these bridges by reaching out and assuming our place in the Menton community without hesitation. So, the next time you’re in the line at the store, make a friend! Photo Source: Rebecca Canton Previous Next

What is it that we are really buying when we adventure ourselves through the lysergic supermarket aisles which symmetrically display layers of colorful plastic and polished tropical fruits? Are we just undertaking a routine task, unworthy of our attention, or are we entering a space of identity-creation and manipulation? < Back Supermaketmania: Shiny Plastic and Constructed Personalities By Margherita Cordellini January 31, 2023 The day is about to end and you do not feel like going home yet. You just got off from work or from a study session in the library and you need a mediator to soften the shift from an uncomfortable wooden chair to bed. It ought to be something that rewards you for having pulled through a seemingly endless day but also something that does not spoil you because you did nothing special, only your job. As you mechanically pass masses of other tired workers and students, your peripheral vision catches sight of a flower-shaped neon sign that rises above a promising banner: “20% sale on selected products.” You know what you will encounter if you walk through the door: a maze of shining, perfectly ordered and rigorously partitioned aisles, which, albeit rarely changing, always disclose new mysteries. You immediately find yourself in the food department, contemplating a myriad of colors, shapes and textures which are supposed to be only accessories, only the casings of what you really want, but that inexplicably signify something more. Filling up your shopping cart with bright yellow, noisy crisps packages and promising images printed on orange juice cartons is not only a temporary solution to a harsh monotonous day but a repetitive choice through which you, and many others, find meaning and reinvent yourself. The contemporary modalities of purchasing fully embrace capitalistic values. The most evident among them is, perhaps, individualism. The heterogeneity of products and brands combined with targeted advertising suggests that there is space for everyone’s identity and invites each person to select products according to a certain congruence. You can choose to be a sporty person — and even become one — if you buy protein bars instead of biscuits. You can appear emancipated from your European background and emanate international vibes if, according to your shopping basket and your kitchen shelves, you are passionate about oatmeal and peanut butter. What this means is that supermarkets are purchasing spaces in which people seek not only to nourish but also to define themselves. In his book “Simulations and Simulacra,” the postmodernist philosopher Jean Baudrillard understands commodities sold in supermarkets as hypercommodities; to our eyes they do not exist as objects but as an intricate net of symbols delivered by advertisements, media and consumerist culture. Baudrillard would thus affirm that we are so bombarded by images of what, for example, an apple signifies (synonym of a healthy lifestyle, dietary restrictions and self-discipline) that apples cannot be said to exist anymore, having been replaced by an ensemble of culturally and socially manufactured images tied to them. It might appear as an abstruse theory, but it shapes the way we process information more often than we think. Consider this passage from Sally Rooney’s novel “Beautiful World Where Are You”: “On his way out of the shop, in front of the fresh fruit display, he paused. Alice was standing there looking at apples, lifting the apples one after another and examining them for defects.” An English-speaking extra-terrestrial deprived of any cultural or social background to whom somebody just explained what supermarkets are and what purpose they serve, would probably infer from this excerpt that Alice is so fond of apples that she wants to make sure to savor them fully or that she seeks the best bang for her buck. This is the most logical conclusion to draw knowing that supermarkets are places where people buy products according to their desires, needs and budgetary constraints. Yet, I highly doubt that this would be the first intuition of a person whose socialization took place in a 21st-century capitalist country and who has been sufficiently exposed to consumerist culture and digital spaces. These last two elements promote a fixation with certain gendered images of the body that privilege slim silhouettes for girls and toned ones for boys. Therefore, it would be impossible not to contemplate the possibility that Alice might be affected by this schizophrenia around somatic features, “healthy” lifestyles and normative Instagram posts studding selfcare pages. In our eyes, Alice, culturally and socially influenced, is examining apples to become a certain kind of person. Hence, in Baudrillard’s words, hypercommodities are made to test ourselves. The self-service dimension characterizing supermarkets gives us the illusory impression of agency and control, whereas, in reality, a supermarket is a space of manipulation of man by products. This conversion from real to hyperreal does not only apply to alimentary products but to the totality of advertised items. However, the food compartment of supermarkets is a particularly interesting case study. Unlike other essential products, e.g. clothes, food is, when sold, often invisible to our eyes, being wrapped by layers of packaging. The blue plastic of Oreos and the thick milk cartons sprinkled with representations of smiling cows are supposed to be mere containers whose relevance is insignificant compared to the contents. Yet, research has shown the incredible influence that these have on consumers purchasing choices. As Schifferstein and others pointed out in their work “Influence of package design on the dynamics of multisensory and emotional food experience,” today the products’ encasement is intended to be a decisive factor. Nowadays, they explain, countless brands offer strikingly similar products: targeting the tastes of the consumers is not enough for companies. It is necessary to make the item stand out from the analogous others; the features of the wrapping material are, together with other elements such as competitive price setting, essential to this. Their research was built on the premise that, while choosing which packed food to purchase, consumers’ sensory experience is vital. Through empirical experiments, they unsurprisingly found that, if people are put in front of a supermarket shelf full of identical products of different brands the most important sense is sight. Betina Piqueras-Fiszman and Charles Spence specify that among all the visible elements characterizing a packed product (size and shape of the container, the size of opening, etc...), color is one of the most decisive factors. This was proved while conducting an experiment on potato chips. Participants were asked to taste and identify the flavor of crisps served from a package whose color corresponds to another variety of potato chips — salt and vinegar chips were served from a blue package (commonly corresponding to cheese and onion crisps) and not a green one. According to the results, the majority of participants were fooled by the wrong color association and failed to recognize the right flavor profile, despite having uncompromised taste buds and being familiar with the crisp brand’s various flavors. The power of colors is so strong that it made it impossible for a significant part of the test group to identify the taste that they knew well. Therefore, what is it that we are really buying? The food product or the shiny plastic packages that unconsciously attract us? The answer probably lies somewhere at the intersection between these two elements. Due to psychological biases, cultural and social influences, we are never buying only food when we go grocery shopping. Attracted by the aesthetics of a supposedly irrelevant casing and eager to build a desired version of ourselves, our experiences in supermarkets are far more complex than we deem and deserve to be further inquired into.

British imperialism sharpens into battles of tic-tac-toe; Durkheim’s grasps at sociological greatness darken into pages stained with doodles. The ocean beside me leaves white trails of foam and my folly, churning boredom and desperation so violently I might drown. You guessed it - I’ve been in the petit amphithéâtre for about six hours too long.  < Back Foam and Folly: A Need to Restructure the Class Schedule at Sciences Po Menton By Marly Fisher November 30, 2023 British imperialism sharpens into battles of tic-tac-toe; Durkheim’s grasps at sociological greatness darken into pages stained with doodles. The ocean beside me leaves white trails of foam and my folly, churning boredom and desperation so violently I might drown. You guessed it - I’ve been in the petit amphithéâtre for about six hours too long. I often leave Sciences Po lectures unsure of the time and anything I’ve just been taught. For weeks, I’ve been worried that the fault is my own, but can we really be expected to be attentive for upwards of three hours at a time? Is Sciences Po’s course schedule structured effectively? In pursuit of an answer, I began by asking other university students around the United States about their course-load. What I found was disappointing but not surprising. Their class hours amounted to an average of fifteen per week, with most first years having twelve credits - or four classes each semester. Instead of midterms, finals, and presentations, they have regular assignments and essays on top of summative assessments. All were appalled that my class hours were in the twenties — “How do you have time to study?” they asked. “Do you have a life?” The standard course load for a first-year at a U.S. university is between 12 and 15 hours, with a maximum of 18 credit hours allowed. At many universities in the UK, contact time is even less; for an English BA at King's College London, there are only four hours of seminars and four hours of lectures each week. At Cambridge, lectures typically last only around 50 minutes. Comparatively, the standard class load at Sciences Po hovers around 22 hours per week (many have even more if they are taking multiple language courses,) and the shortest class time is two hours long. I examined more scholarly sources next, only to reaffirm my sneaking suspicion that more class time is not always more effective. In 1996, in a journal called the National Teaching & Learning Forum, two professors from Indiana University, Joan Middendorf and Alan Kalish ,found that long lectures can result in detrimental effects on human attention and retention. They cited a 1976 study that detailed the ebbs and flows of students’ focus during a typical class period. They found that, first, students need a three-to-five minute period of settling down (which, I suppose, is naturally provided to us students that operate on Menton time.) This time was followed by just 10 to 18 minutes of optimal focus. Then, no matter how thrilling the lecture or how powerful the rhetoric, their attention lapsed. The students would “lose it.” While attention would eventually return, it would be in ever-briefer three to four minute spurts. Furthermore, Middendorf and Kalish cited a 1985 study that tested students on their fact recall from a 20-minute presentation. In fact, students remembered far more of what they’d heard at the very beginning of the lecture - by the 15-minute mark, they’d mostly zoned out. A few swift clicks on the calculator reveals that there are 16 fifteen-minute increments inside a four hour lecture. Most lecturers here offer us just one to two breaks within that time. If students are unable to remember facts from more than fifteen minutes ago, how can we be expected to retain complex ideas from hours ago? Most, if not all, students concur. “No fraction of this education system is effective,” lamented a Sciences Po Menton student on the way out of her last class of the day. “As fascinating as I can find the subjects presented in the lectures, it is undeniable that in every case, my attention span dwindles almost immediately an hour into it,” said another. Many agree that information retention is even more difficult with a lack of accountability in the form of more frequent assessments. For a group of students yearning to achieve political greatness, it seems that most are only achieving new records of the fastest Mini Crossword solving time. If we aim to revolutionize the world, we must revolutionize our way of learning first. Maybe it’s in the form of shorter, more frequent classes. Perhaps we should abandon the lecture style altogether. But one thing is for certain: someone in the class of 2026 will go on to be a marvelous NYT game creator.

Those interested in joining the Menton Times staff must be current Sciences Po Menton students. Staff applications for the 2024-2025 academic year open on August 15, 2024 and close on September 1, 2022. Mid-year applications open on December 1, 2024 and close on January 1, 2025. We accept guest writers from the Menton campus, greater Sciences Po network, and alumni pool. Interested guest writers can reach out to Editor in Chief, Rebecca Canton, or Managing Editor, Pracheth Sanka, with an article pitch. rebecca.canton@sciencespo.fr pracheth.sanka@sciencespo.fr Have a pitch or idea? First name* Last name Sciences Po Email* Whatsapp Number Write your idea Submit

En ces temps de mutation profonde du monde du travail, la controverse portant sur la forme que doit prendre une bonne workweek anime les gouvernements et les sociétés. Décriées ou célébrées, les tentatives actuelles pour réformer la semaine de travail traditionnelle se multiplient à travers le monde et nous incitent à repenser notre rapport à la production et à l’emploi. < Back Les ‘Five-Day Workweeks’ en Débat: Revisiter Notre Rapport à la Production et au Travail Margarita Kopsia October 31, 2024 Les sondages réalisés par CNN Business révèlent que « 77% des travailleurs aux États-Unis » seraient en faveur de la semaine de quatre jours, convaincus que cela aurait un effet positif sur leur bien-être. Les expérimentations sur la four-day workweek se multiplient alors à travers le monde, portant avec elles l’espoir d’un meilleur équilibre entre vie privée et vie professionnelle et promettant de meilleures performances économiques. Traversant les pays, les secteurs économiques, les entreprises et les employés. Elles réunissent également tous ces acteurs autour d’une même préoccupation: celle de trouver des solutions plus efficaces pour atteindre un meilleur équilibre entre productivité et épanouissement personnel. Ce renouvellement dans notre manière de penser et d’organiser le travail pousse alors des acteurs de plus en plus nombreux à donner une chance à la semaine de quatre jours. Ce mouvement ne fait pas pourtant l’unanimité et au mécontentement de nombreux, la Grèce a récemment tendu en faveur de la semaine de six jours dans le cadre de sa politique économique, afin de stimuler la croissance dans certains secteurs. Ainsi, le débat sur la durée et la fréquence qui sont censés caractériser la workweek « idéale » est bien là. Mais qu’est-ce que le terme workweek est-il censé refléter et pourquoi parle-t-on de plus en plus ces dernières années de ses différentes variétés? La notion de workweek— signifiant littéralement “semaine de travail”—se réfère généralement au nombre d’heures ou de jours que l’individu moyen passe à travailler au cours d’une semaine. Ainsi, si la représentation que chacun peut avoir de la semaine « parfaite » varie fortement—entre temps consacré à travailler ou à s’épanouir individuellement—celle qui s’est historiquement, traditionnellement et culturellement imposée l’est beaucoup moins. En effet, la semaine de cinq jours, qui dure entre 30 et 39 heures environ dans l’Union européenne, constitue une réalité depuis de nombreuses générations déjà et semble avoir bien pris place dans nos habitudes à travers l’écrasante majorité des populations et des secteurs de travail. Mais suscitant curiosité, espoir ou incompréhension, la Belgique fut dès 2022 « le premier pays dans l’Union européenne—et le troisième seulement dans le monde, après l’Islande et la Nouvelle Zélande—à introduire formellement la four-day workweek comme une option pour ses travailleurs, » en augmentant le volume horaire de travail requis pour les quatre jours restants, qui passe alors de huit heures par jour à neuf heures et demi: « rendre les gens et les entreprises plus forts » est l'objectif affiché par le Premier ministre belge Alexander de Croo. Le Royaume-Uni figure parmi les pionniers en expérimentation de la four-day workweek, dont le succès à même ouvert la voie à la rédaction du « Flexible Working Bill » censé entrer en vigueur en Juillet 2025 . Ce projet de loi prévoit de laisser aux employés plus de liberté concernant leurs horaires et milieux de travail privilégiés, suite aux constats du CIPD dont les recherches ont montré que « 6% des employés ont changé d’emploi [en 2022] précisément par manque d’options de travail flexibles et que 12% parmi ces derniers ont quitté leur profession entièrement faute de flexibilité au sein du secteur. Cela représente 2 et 4 millions de travailleurs respectivement. » L’argument qui revient est comparable à celui des autres pays qui donnent une chance à la semaine de quatre jours, le ministre des Affaires et du Commerce Kevin Hollinrake affirmant qu’ « une force de travail plus heureuse signifie plus de productivité, et c’est pour cela que nous soutenons des mesures qui donnent aux travailleurs à travers le Royaume-Uni davantage de flexibilité quant à “où” et “quand” ils travaillent. » Face au nombre grandissant d’entreprises, d’administrations publiques voire d’États qui semblent récemment remettre en question cette vision généralisée de ce qu’est une bonne workweek , conciliant efficacité, productivité et équilibre, le Japon prend position. Espérant « rendre les postes plus attractifs en passant de cinq à quatre jours hebdomadaires, » faire face au coût économique du vieillissement de la population ou même pour « lutter contre le burnout, » le Japon a récemment commencé à opter lui aussi en faveur de la semaine de quatre jours. Soucieux de préserver le bien-être de ses travailleurs, doper leur productivité mais aussi dans le but d’attirer plus de talents, c’est dans le cadre de sa « work style reform campaign » que le gouvernement japonais incite les entreprises à adopter une plus grande « flexibilité » quant aux horaires et jours travail qu’ils imposent à leurs employés. Depuis l’année 2021 que le concept acquiert une certaine popularité parmi les rangs des grandes entreprises japonaises telles que Panasonic ou Hitachi, mais il peine étonnamment à s’imposer parmi les travailleurs eux-mêmes pour cause de la « workaholic culture » qui caractérise la société japonaise. Car en effet, travailler « moins »—même si cela peut se traduire à travailler « mieux »—peut être mal vu parmi des employés qui sont de plus en plus prêts à sacrifier du temps de leur vie privée pour leur vie de travail. Martin Schulz, économiste en chef chez Fujitsu, confie alors à CNBC que « faire partie d’une compagnie c’est presque comme faire partie d’une communauté, et cela résulte souvent en des heures de travail plus longues, qui ne sont pas forcément plus efficaces. » Ainsi, selon ce même article, seulement 150 parmi les 63 000 travailleurs éligibles chez Panasonic pour une telle flexibilité du travail ont finalement opté pour cela. Nous sommes donc témoins aujourd'hui d’un mouvement international, mais divisé, en faveur de la semaine de quatre jours, à la lumière du nombre grandissant de pays qui multiplient les expérimentations et réglementations suivant cette nouvelle direction. Espérant concilier productivité et bien-être, l’équilibre entre vie professionnelle et vie personnelle semble de plus en plus difficile à trouver au fur et à mesure qu’il est remis en question par ces différents pays, dont les semaines de travail deviennent plus courtes et plus denses. S’écarter de la semaine de quatre jours: le cas de la Grèce avec la nouvelle loi 5053/23 Le chemin qui est emprunté par la Grèce à ce niveau est différent et la solution qui se présente depuis Juillet 2024 pour « stimuler l’emploi » implique contrairement une hausse du temps de travail hebdomadaire: la semaine de 48 heures pourrait devenir une réalité pour de nombreux employés. Cette nouvelle législation concerne les entreprises qui « fournissent des services [de type] 24/7 ou celles qui font face à une charge de travail extraordinaire, » qui auront la possibilité « d’imposer une semaine de travail de six jours à leurs employés. » Le secteur touristique, caractérisé par des rythmes intenses et par des journées longues pour les salariés, n’est donc généralement pas concerné par la législation selon le journal Ekathimerini . Le compromis pour ceux qui le sont? Une « hausse de leur salaire de 40% » pour ce jour supplémentaire, voire de 115% s’il s’agit d’un dimanche. Décalage par rapport à d'autres pays européens , ou plutôt outil de rattrapage privilégié ? De tels questionnements traversent la société grecque et alimentent la controverse, sachant que la Grèce figure déjà selon Eurostat parmi les pays de l’Union européenne avec la semaine de travail la plus longue, affichant une moyenne de 39,9 heures de travail hebdomadaires en 2023. L’explication qui est mise en avant par les économistes est que « le plus grand problème de l’économie grecque est la productivité des heures de travail, » le pays affichant une efficacité moins importante par rapport à la moyenne européenne. D’autres facteurs tels que la « baisse de la population » ou la « la pénurie de travailleurs qualifiés » —tous deux liés à « l'exode » de millions de jeunes qualifiés depuis la crise économique de 2009—accentuent également les enjeux qui ont abouti à cet élargissement de la semaine de travail pour les secteurs en question. Ces facteurs feraient-ils de cette nouvelle législation une mesure impopulaire mais nécessaire? Espérant soulager ces maux mais aussi affronter les problèmes liés au versement des salaires des employés et ceux de l'exercice de travail « non déclaré , » la mesure excède une dimension purement économique pour le gouvernement qui souhaite d’en faire également une mesure qui soit « worker-friendly . » Les modalités de l'exercice de ce jour de travail supplémentaire sont ainsi régies par différentes réglementations et la limite de travail journalier pour ce sixième jour est fixée à 8 heures, les employeurs étant dans l’obligation de respecter ce seuil et ne pouvant imposer à leurs salariés des tâches ou des horaires qui nécessiteraient de s’en écarter. Malgré ce souci affiché pour le respect des droits des employés concernés par ces changements, la nouvelle loi fait face à une impopularité accrue, étant même qualifiée comme « barbare » par les syndicats dans le cadre de manifestations pendant le mois de Juillet qui y dénoncent une approche contre-productive, ne faisant qu’accentuer des problèmes existants. Aussi éclaircissant que cela puisse être de continuer de s’interroger sur ce qui fait la force ou la faiblesse de ces différentes workweeks , entre semaines de quatre jours ou semaines de six jours, demandons-nous également comment en est-on arrivés là. Pourquoi la semaine de cinq jours a-t-elle fini par s’imposer comme le modèle dominant d’organisation du travail? Visions, pensées et représentations de la semaine travail à travers le temps et l’espace Mis à part toutes ces différentes controverses et mouvements opposés, le débat sur les workweeks s’opère généralement sur un même fond commun, qui est celui de la semaine de cinq jours. Cette dernière est largement partagée par la grande majorité des pays du monde et traverse les sociétés et les époques. Ainsi, le concept aurait même constitué une réalité sous une autre forme durant la dynastie Han en Chine, durant laquelle les « fonctionnaires avaient le droit de prendre un jour de repos tous les 5 jours » selon Lien-sheng Yang dans S chedules of Work and Rest in Imperial China . Il est ainsi possible de retracer plusieurs origines à la notion de la semaine de cinq jours. Parmi les moments de l’histoire qui ont participé à son façonnement, nous relevons par exemple la contribution fondamentale de Henry Ford qui aurait « dit à ses employés qu’il mettait en place une semaine de 5 jours et de 40 heures [...]. » Les « revendications syndicales » auraient également joué un rôle essentiel dans la mise en place des principes constitutifs de la semaine de 5 jours dans le cadre des « nombreuses luttes sociales dès les années 1830 »—époque où « on travaille quinze à dix-sept heures par jour » et où on s’engage déjà à réduire les journées à 12 heures par jour. Ce seuil diminue progressivement au fil du temps et c’est en 1982 que « la durée légale du travail passe à 39 heures par semaine, sans perte de salaire » en France. Aujourd’hui, « la durée légale du temps de travail est fixé à 35 heures par semaine à temps complet » en France, et le site web officiel de l’Union européen écrit qu’ « en tant qu'employeur , vous devez veiller à ce que votre personnel ne travaille pas plus de 48 heures par semaine en moyenne (heures supplémentaires comprises). » En ces temps de mutation profonde du monde du travail, la controverse portant sur la forme que doit prendre une bonne workweek anime les gouvernements et les sociétés. Décriées ou célébrées, les tentatives actuelles pour réformer la semaine de travail traditionnelle se multiplient à travers le monde et nous incitent à repenser notre rapport à la production et à l’emploi. Voir clair dans ce débat est un exercice subtil, à la lumière duquel il n’existe finalement pas de réponse unique et universelle. Mais plus important encore que de s’attarder au cas par cas et de critiquer ces différents modèles, il ne faut perdre de vue l’objectif ultime vers lequel on espère se rapprocher: celui d’un monde professionnel conciliant efficacité, équilibre et respect. Dévier du modèle traditionnel de la semaine des cinq jours ne pourrait correspondre en fin de compte que d’une nouvelle occasion pour nous à revisiter nos pratiques et les interroger pour les améliorer.

About twenty minutes into the concert, frontman Mahamadou Souleymane stopped the music. In solemn and simple words, he stated “Africa suffers. We are suffering.” This interlude was a stark reminder that what we, the crowd, had gathered to listen to was not simply music, but a political demonstration. < Back Renowned Tuareg Rock Group Mdou Moctar: Where Politics and Music Collide By Saoirse Aherne April 29, 2022 If you had walked down Avenue de Saint-Ouen this past Saturday, you might have heard a distant cacophony of noise. You would have caught the audible wail of a classic electric guitar, but layered on a rhythm that was not quite rock, not quite funk, not quite blues. The genre bending noise that flooded Paris’ 18th Arrondissement this weekend was all thanks to Mdou Moctar – a four-piece Tuareg musical act that took the stage of “Le Hasard Ludique” by storm, clad in daraa and tagelmusts, armed with electric guitars, and biting political lyrics in Tamasheq. About twenty minutes into the concert, frontman Mahamadou Souleymane stopped the music. In solemn and simple words, he stated “Africa suffers. We are suffering.” He continued, demanding an explanation for the deployment of French and American troops in numerous African nations, stating “it is not the 15th century.” Yet, according to Souleymane, colonial practices prevail. Souleymane described the extraction of resources from his home country of Niger at the hands of French mining companies, underlining how his people had seen no profit from their own nation's riches. Souelymane called on the audience to inform themselves on what the French government was doing in nations across the continent of Africa, and to condemn their leaders for the practice of imperialism. Leaving his words to settle in the humid air of the cramped concert hall, Souleymane stepped back, raised his guitar, and launched into a whining guitar lick. As the rest of the band joined, the song took the form of a typical Mdou Moctar ballad – rife with rhythm and spirit, a soul-catching groove layered with melodic vocals and lively drums. This interlude was a stark reminder that what we, the crowd, had gathered to listen to was not simply music, but a political demonstration. Such has always been the case of desert blues – a genre born in Libyan military training camps in the 1970s, an intricate fusion of rock, blues, and traditional Tuareg sounds. The Tuareg, a historically nomadic sub-group of the Amazigh residing in the Sahara-Sahel region, have long faced subjugation in the nations across which their people reside. There is a strong separatist movement within the Tuareg community, which has acted as a significant source of conflict since the Saharan-Sahel nations gained independence. In the 1980s, Gaddafi opened the Libyan borders to Tuareg refugees fleeing persecution and began recruiting them into his army. Libyan military camps flooded with young Tuareg men, fueling a number of insurrections and rebellions across the Sahara in the 1990s. However, another unexpected outcome emerged from these training camps, a different manifestation of the Tuareg desire for emancipation and autonomy: Desert Blues. It was a band by the name of Tinariwen that pioneered this genre. Front man Ibrahim Ag Alhabib met his bandmates in a guerrilla training camp in Libya. The young men began to write songs about their struggles, the horrors that had forced them to flee their homes, and the subjugation of Tuareg people. They formed a musical group, playing at weddings and parties, speaking to the longing and suffering of their fellow Tuareg exiles. Soon they came to be known as “Kel Tinariwen,” which translates to “The Desert Boys” in Tamasheq. And so began Tinariwen, the first Desert Blues group, which expertly combined traditional Tuareg sounds with bluesy guitar riffs and unfalteringly political lyrics. In 1985, Tinariwen set up a makeshift studio where they wrote and recorded songs. They offered these recordings for free to all who could provide a blank cassette tape. These tapes were exchanged and dispersed across the Sahara by rebel groups fighting for Tuareg independence throughout the 1990s. Tinariwen were the first of many bands from the Sahara-Sahel region to use music as a tool both in support of their own people’s spirit and to draw the eyes of the world to their suffering. Mdou Moctar in many ways is inspired by Tinariwen’s model. Especially with regards to their most recent album, “Afrique Victime,” Mdou Moctar’s lyrics are harshly anti-imperialist. Although distinctly Tuareg in musical style, “Afrique Victime” speaks for the continent of Africa as a whole, using music to condemn its exploitation and violation by Western powers. Mahamadou Souleymane is Tuareg, born in a small village in the mid-80s in Niger. Due to resistance from his parents, Souleymane took up guitar, first by fashioning bike wires to a piece of wood and teaching himself to play in secret on this makeshift instrument. Inspired by music emerging from the neighboring country of Nigeria, Solelymane fused traditional Tuareg sounds with drum machine tracks and autotune. His creations began to circulate, and somehow made their way to American music blogger Chris Kirkley. Awestruck by the musical innovations Souleymane was creating, Kirkley departed to Niger to attempt to find the mysterious musician behind these haunting tracks. After successfully locating Souleymane, Kirkley’s label, Sahel sounds, helped to produce a number of albums for Souleymane’s band– Mdou Moctar– which have garnered increasing international recognition. But music for Souleymane is merely an accessory to his central mission of bettering the lives of those within his community. Each time Mdou Moctar releases an album, he builds a well, a vital resource in Niger where access to water is a continual issue. Souleymane lives and works for the most part in Tahoua, as do the rest of the band. He knows the community, plays at local weddings, and rents out his car for a small fee – that is, when he’s not touring the world. In recent years, the fame achieved by Mdou Moctar has provided Souleymane with a platform to propagate his message to Western audiences. In an interview with Dazed magazine in 2021, Souleymane stated “[French] companies have extracted all the uranium and gold in Niger but help none of our problems. I’ve seen it since I was a small child. It’s modern slavery, racism, and colonialism combined.” He continued in this interview, proclaiming “I am calling the whole world to stand up and revolt against the conditions we face. We don’t have the technology here in Niger to manufacture weapons, so how are they entering the country? Why are other nations storing tools of war on our land? France, the US, NATO — they’re all complicit. Why are they here? Why?” Souleymane offered a damning final sentiment: “They’re playing with my people.” Mdou Moctar utilizes its music to dissolve the simplistic portrait of the marginalized as weak and miserable. It draws attention to the evils of imperialism through a medium which showcases the beauty of Tuareg culture. Souleymane is shockingly talented, a compelling speaker, and an internationally recognized artist, all the while remaining an integral part of his community. He advocates for his people from within. The music of Mdou Moctar is not only a stunning auditory experience, but also deeply powerful and moving. Such is the nature of political music, for it is from conflict and marginalization that the most compelling art arises. Desert blues have provided the Tuareg with a means to document their unique struggle, to draw the eyes of the world to their needs. And Mdou Moctar, in its embrace of this genre, has extended its political demands to represent all those that suffer beneath the burden of imperialism.

In this article, I will demonstrate how I used my P'tit Bio basket, but more importantly, we will explore — in tandem with Environnementon’s “Veganuary” initiative — the environmental impact of different diets < Back Ethical Eating Made Simple with Environnementon’s P’tit Bio Basket By Angela Saab Saade February 28, 2023 Butternut squash, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, leeks, lettuce, endives, onions, avocado, kiwi, apples, pears, oranges and bananas — you may be thinking, “what a bland set of crops,” or, “what a phenomenal combination of delicious ingredients.” Once I read what I had written, I thought, “this could be a children’s song.” Unlike what the picture below may insinuate, the presented list is not just a bunch of fruits and vegetables in a basket. Each of these items may be transformed into a delicious meal rich in flavors, colors, vitamins and biotics, either combined with the right ingredients or prepared individually to yield positively surprising outcomes. This article will demonstrate how I used my P’tit Bio basket. More importantly, we will explore — in tandem with Environnementon’s “Veganuary” initiative — the environmental impact of different diets. The P’tit Bio Basket is Environnementon’s way of providing you with the necessary resources to facilitate your preparation of more ethical and eco-friendly plant-based meals. Sold at eight euros, while the original purchase is priced two euros more from P'tit Bio in Menton , the basket is extremely cost-efficient. The co-president of Environnementon, Esther Boulekouane, affirms the aim of this discount is “to offer the student body a cheap option to have this sound and plant-based alimentation.” Fifteen baskets are sold every two weeks. I certainly encourage you to try it out; my two roommates and I have bought it twice this semester and would have purchased it more often had we had the chance! Kindly note this is not an ad; I am not even part of the association, but I am fond of great deals, yummy food and noble mission. Perhaps the easiest and most convenient meal during this cold weather is vegetable soup. My roommates and I collectively chopped some onions, carrots, potatoes and leeks. It took us no more than ten minutes to chop them all up and place them in hot water with two vegetable broth cubes, olive oil and spices to taste. We also dropped in lentils as a protein source. Alternatively, you may choose to add tofu, chickpeas or beans. About thirty minutes later, we ate the soup alongside a baguette, which was the perfect way to end the long and tiring cold day. With the lettuce and endives, I made a delicious side salad for my baked potatoes, topped with balsamic dressing, olive oil and salt. I also ate the lettuce and avocado on toast with zaatar, a delicious Levantine dried-herb mix. As for the half butternut squash, I tried it for the first time this year. However, when I devoured what my roommates had cut up in cubes, baked in the oven with some olive oil and salt and tossed into our communal salad of baked vegetables and tofu, I instantly noticed my culinary world expanding. I can attest that I have disregarded a superb vegetable for the first nineteen years of my life — I hope you have not been missing out too. Lastly, the fruits of the basket were eaten as snacks, alone or with peanut butter (which, by the way, appears to be sold at a great deal at Menton's Asian Store!) There are countless ways you could choose to eat the fruits and vegetables from your P’tit Bio Basket. Regardless, they emit far fewer carbon emissions than animal-based products, especially meat. As a reference, the Carbon Food Calculator estimates that one kilogram of meat produced in the region of the European Union emits 24.13 kilograms of CO2 emissions. On the other hand, one kilogram of squash emits 4.1 kilograms of CO2, one kilogram of tomatoes emits 3.36 kilograms of CO2, and all other vegetables and fruits included in the P’tit Bio Basket emit under 1.3 kilograms of CO2 emissions per kilogram. Figures for the impact of daily versus weekly meat consumption and other protein sources have been presented in the images below as a general overview. To better understand the impact of your consumption, you may refer to the Harvard Foodprint Calculator , the BBC Calculator or others . Furthermore, on its Instagram page, Environnementon has shared various recipes that may ease your transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. Some other resources that may be of relevance are itsvegansis , veganiina , dr.vegan , _sunchef , fitgreenmind and thecheftomy . Pick and choose! While this article sheds light on the impact of each consumption on the ecosystem that we so vitally need to survive as a human species and as a planet, it is by no means claiming that these individual steps will solve the worldwide dilemma of the unethical, environmentally degrading animal-based industry. The need for greater initiatives is undeniable, but it does not mean we must remove all responsibility from ourselves. Indeed, as the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. Still, in this day and age, ignorance is no longer an excuse, especially being educated citizens of the world. We must all take the initiative if we have the means, individually, within our communities and global institutions. It is not a chronological process, where one starts small and ends big, but rather a combination of changes in individual lifestyle habits and entrenched communal norms. There is no point in beating yourself up if you enjoy eating meat or other animal-based products; we have been accustomed to such habits from a very young age. Rather than unrealistically attempting to cut off all animal-based food, you may try to reduce consumption instead. As Boulekouane expressed well, “It is really simple to tell someone to go vegan/vegetarian (and make them conscious of their environmental footprints), but it is way better to provide tools for the transition and to show people that being vegan is not dull, nor annoying.” I hope this article has done precisely that.

La pensée de Gramsci n’a rien d’une abstraite bataille des idées. , Iil s’agit tout au contraire de permettre la réalisation effective de la révolution et de l’émancipation en balisant son parcours. Aujourd’hui, plus que la vieille révolution prolétarienne dont on connaît les dérives possibles—c’est un euphémisme—il faut retenir de Gramsci son souci de préparer le changement radical. < Back Gramsci: la politique est une guerre de position Lubin Parisien April 29, 2025 « C’est l’écrivain communiste italien Gramsci qui écrit: les victoires idéologiques précèdent les victoires électorales » déclare Jean-Marie Le Pen le 1er mai 2007. La nécessité de gagner la bataille des idées est devenue une banalité des commentaires politiques notamment quand il s’agit d’expliquer la prééminence des thèmes de l’extrême-droite pour diffuser son racisme. Antonio Gramsci serait le créateur de cette vulgate des idées. Antonio Gramsci est pourtant un homme politique et un intellectuel qui peut nourrir d’une façon singulièrement plus heureuse la gauche et son projet émancipateur dans un contexte de montée de l’extrême-droite. Antonio Gramsci est un penseur de cette adversité, mais surtout de la stratégie pour changer en profondeur la société. De Turin à Moscou, un communiste original Né à Ales en Sardaigne en 1891, Antonio Gramsci « appartient à une famille de petits fonctionnaires ruinés » rapporte Hugues Portelli dans l’article consacré à Gramsci dans l’encyclopédie Universalis. La révolution russe de 1917 est un tournant pour Gramsci car elle suscite dans toute l’Europe des événements que certains ont cru pouvoir être le prélude de la révolution du prolétariat tant attendue. Dans le Nord industriel de l’Italie—à Turin notamment—commence le Biennio rosso , une période d’instabilité après la Première Guerre mondiale où les mouvements ouvriers s’organisent pour demander des droits, et font des grèves et des occupations pour reprendre le contrôle de la production. A Turin, Gramsci est le grand défenseur des conseils ouvriers et du conseillisme avec son journal Ordine Nuovo , ce qui consiste en la reprise en main de l’appareil de production par les travailleurs qui décident collectivement de l’allocation des fruits du travail sans le corporatisme syndical dont Gramsci se méfiait. Le Parti socialiste italien (PSI) ne soutient pas l’expérience qui échoue à terme et la rupture est consommée en 1921 avec la fondation du Parti communiste italien (PCI ) par Bordiga et Gramsci notamment. Le moment du Biennio rosso est perçu par Antonio Gramsci comme précédant soit la révolution soit un moment réactionnaire particulièrement violent: Gramsci prend très vite conscience du danger du fascisme de Mussolini qui monte auprès des élites désireuses du retour à l’ordre ancien grâce à la violence des chemises noires. De fait, après la Marche sur Rome des fascistes et l’accord entre les élites libérales et Mussolini, le PCI est interdit en 1923 et devient clandestin, les arrestations sont nombreuses et Gramsci est menacé. Il bénéficie du soutien de Moscou malgré des divergences progressives de fond, notamment au vu de la bureaucratisation du régime bolchevique. Arrêté et écroué, Gramsci ne peut que constater avec dégoût le tournant encore plus autoritariste et rigide de l’URSS de Staline—même s’il l’avait soutenu face à Trotsky. C’est en prison qu’il écrit ses Quaderni , ses Cahiers de prison où il fait le bilan du début des années 1920 en en tirant les leçons pour le mouvement communiste. Quatre jours après être sorti de prison, Antonio Gramsci meurt en 1937 suite à ses mauvaises conditions de détention. Le procureur fasciste ayant envoyé Gramsci en prison voulait « empêcher ce cerveau de fonctionner pendant vingt ans » a donné à son insu du temps à Gramsci pour approfondir une pensée qui n’a pas perdu de sa pertinence. Où est l’hégémonie ? L’idée gramscienne la plus connue est sans doute celle d’hégémonie culturelle, mais, c’est sans doute, aussi son idée la plus manipulée par l’extrême-droite. Il ne s’agit pas en effet d’un matraquage idéologique afin d’imposer partout sa ‘conception du monde.’, Ll’hégémonie résulte plutôt d’une guerre politique de position où il s’agit de rendre commun sa ‘conception du monde’ dans tous les lieux et instances de la vie sociale: dans l’entreprise et la politique, mais aussi dans les associations. En effet, la présence en Europe de l’Ouest d’une forte société civile avec ses Églises et ses œuvres de charité nécessite un travail plus patient pour les révolutionnaires occidentaux que pour les Russes. Dans un article du Monde diplomatique , Razmig Keucheyan explique que pour Gramsci, la société civile « détient une part importante de la somme totale du pouvoir, si bien qu’il ne suffit pas de s’emparer de l’Etat. » Pour résumer, les bonnes œuvres, au lieu d’afficher la fausse bienveillance des bourgeois, devraient dénoncer en parallèle de leurs activités les méfaits de ces bourgeois qui rendent la charité nécessaire. Nicolas Truong dans un article du Monde précise bien que l’idée d’hégémonie dans les mouvements communistes recouvrent concrètement et principalement « l’alliance des classes paysannes et ouvrières sous l’égide du prolétariat. » Gramsci a justement beaucoup travaillé sur la question dite méridionale, c’est-à-dire l’inclusion des paysans pauvres du Sud de l’Italie dans la lutte des ouvriers du Nord du pays. Ce n’est donc pas forcément la voie express vers le totalitarisme malgré la connotation du mot hégémonie. L’hégémonie est avant tout un travail de « persua[sion] permanente » où il faut susciter le consentement de la société en faisant émerger un « sens commun » réellement émancipateur. Pour cela, il ne faut pas partir de zéro mais plutôt s’appuyer sur les opinions banales du moment pour les canaliser et en extirper la dimension aliénante. Jean-Claude Zancarini, qui a beaucoup écrit sur Antonio Gramsci, résume l’idée en ces termes « le prolétariat, pour être hégémonique, doit se comporter en classe dirigeante, (qui montre le chemin, la direction à suivre,) et non en classe dominante qui impose ses points de vue. » Ce n’est pas un matraquage, car il y a une exigence de souplesse que doit satisfaire le mouvement révolutionnaire cherchant son succès: il ne faut pas imposer une idéologie préconçue. Gramsci applique cette grille de lecture pour analyser l’échec du Biennio rosso . La situation des capitalistes est chancelante mais les partis communistes et socialistes échouent car, selon Gramsci, ils ont méprisé la spontanéité populaire et ont laissé le mouvement couler entre leurs doigts. En face, la bourgeoisie s’abandonne aux fascistes, c’est-à-dire, toujours selon Gramsci, qu’elle renonce à être la « classe dirigeante » pour rester la « classe dominante » grâce à la propriété des moyens de production. Pour gagner la guerre de position, Mussolini incorpore les ouvriers dans le fascisme dans des corporations et des mouvements de jeunesse; c’est ainsi qu’il avance ses positions et garantit son hégémonie. Il y a quelque chose d’assez autoritaire dans la vision de l’action pré-révolutionnaire de Gramsci dans la mesure où les intellectuels doivent transformer le ‘sens commun’ pour le rendre émancipateur. Gramsci a conscience de ce biais en promouvant un rapport entre ces intellectuels et les ouvriers différent de celui entre le professeur et l’élève, il propose quelque chose de plus horizontal où, selon une comparaison revenant souvent, les intellectuels sont comme Machiavel conseillant le prince qu’est le prolétariat. Dans un entretien accordé à L’Humanité , Jean-Claude Zancarini affirme que « le parti bolchevique [tel que conçu par Gramsci] est un parti de révolutionnaires professionnels. Le parti, selon Gramsci, se situe entre la spontanéité des masses et le travail politique. » Il ne faut donc pas de coupures avec la base et la politique demeure une pratique nourrie par la réflexivité—et non pas une pratique justifiée après coup par une idéologie forcément implacable comme en URSS. Et de fait, c’est seulement dans les geôles de Mussolini que Gramsci se décide enfin à se distancer effectivement du bolchevisme Staliniste. Gramsci n’est pas mort On ne peut pas nier la liberté intellectuelle dont Gramsci a su se saisir face au PSI et même vis-à-vis d’une IIIème Internationale à laquelle il s’est pourtant rallié. Aujourd’hui, la complexité de sa pensée que nous avons effleuré est souvent réduite à une vague conquête—idée en soi problématique et peu gramscienne—du pouvoir par les idées—comme si les idées avaient une force en soi à laquelle Gramsci n’a jamais cru. Pourtant, la gauche, si elle veut être ambitieuse, ferait bien de relire Gramsci sans passer par l’intermédiaire de Jean-Marie Le Pen pour en retenir trois leçons. D’abord, il faut retenir de Gramsci l’idée d’une guerre de position. L, la victoire ne passe par l’acceptation de la tiédeur de la société face à un changement radical et par la modération de son propos mais plutôt par la diffusion de ses idées dans le ‘sens commun,’ en s’appuyant sur les structures en place pour faire ce changement radical. Les soutiens du mouvement #metoo , en manifestant, en communiquant sur les réseaux sociaux ou en utilisant des tribunaux connus pour leur mansuétude face aux délits et crimes sexistes, ont utilisé les méthodes et les canaux déjà existants pour insuffler dans l’espace publique et privé un souffle émancipateur pour les femmes, qui reste certes chancelant face aux attaques réactionnaires. A l’inverse, le naufrage électoral du mandat social-libéral du Président Hollande entre 2012 et 2017 où le PS a courtisé le patronat illustre l’inanité et l’inefficacité d’une volonté de recentrage politique au prix du mépris de la défense des intérêts des travailleurs. La seconde leçon consiste à ne pas délaisser le travail de fond idéologique que doit effectuer une gauche qui se veut ambitieuse, notamment en posant la question du système économique et en réfléchissant aux alternatives. Le travail des intellectuels est conçu par Gramsci comme une condition pour l’élévation des travailleurs et leur transformation en une classe dirigeante—et non pas dominante comme nous l’avons déjà fait remarquer. Le plein exercice de la démocratie par tous les citoyens devrait donc passer avant par ce moment de réflexion sur tous les espaces échappant à cette démocratie, en premier lieu l’entreprise et le travail. Enfin, Antonio Gramsci a une conception « jacobine » du parti qui doit mener la révolution, le parti reste une ‘centrale’ pour coordonner et ordonner tout le mouvement social. Avant de réfléchir à un parti unique pour la gauche, il faut plutôt retenir la nécessité de l’union des gauches dont le NFP est le dernier rejeton. La réflexion gramscienne sur le lien à nouer entre les paysans méridionaux et ouvriers du Nord rappelle la difficulté contemporaine à concrétiser la convergence des luttes en une seule lutte commune. L’unité est le problème majeur dans le parcours de Gramsci, notamment dans le rapport entre intellectuels et ouvriers en évitant que les premiers aient un ascendant sur les seconds. La division artificielle entre le social et le sociétal, ou les élucubrations de Fabien Roussel sur le racisme anti-blanc, menacent ainsi la cohérence du combat politique émancipateur que doit porter la gauche en acceptant le cadrage et le ‘sens commun’ faisant le lit au mieux des libéraux, au pire des vrais racistes. La pensée de Gramsci n’a rien d’une abstraite bataille des idées. , Iil s’agit tout au contraire de permettre la réalisation effective de la révolution et de l’émancipation en balisant son parcours. Aujourd’hui, plus que la vieille révolution prolétarienne dont on connaît les dérives possibles—c’est un euphémisme—il faut retenir de Gramsci son souci de préparer le changement radical. Fa ce aux arcs et autres figures géométriques républicaines, il faut construire concrètement une liberté pour tous, une égalité effective et une fraternité non-négociable et faire avancer partout où on le peut ces boussoles morales et politiques, sans craindre de reprendre la société à ceux qui jouissent de son iniquité et s’inquiètent à juste titre pour leurs positions et leurs privilèges. Photo source: Wikimedia commons

If the campus is about 70% female and 30% male, and of the women, 75% are available and heterosexual, and of the men, about half are gay and maybe 25% are in a relationship, how many available, straight men does that leave for the single women, keen and looking? No need to do the math. We are not all EcoSoc majors. To put it simply, the answer is not a lot. < Back Love is in the Air? Une Lutte Contre le Vent Maia Zasler and Maria Eirini Liodi March 31, 2025 February 14th. A day marked in red on calendars around the globe. For better or worse, we prepare roses for our partner, bottles of wine for our “Galentine’s” soirées or gather stocks of chocolate for company in bed. Amidst the swirling romance and ka-ching! of capitalist cash flows, somewhere in the Côte d’Azur, some 400 students ponder their life decisions. Menton, nestled in the nook of Southern France, is but a blip in the grand scheme of life and love—a microcosm resembling normality. Well, dear readers, Valentine’s Day has passed. Although remnants of love (and receipts from Société Générale ) linger over a month later, there persists a pressing matter. In such a tight-knit academic environment, we may appreciate the privilege of exchanging ideas on constitutional law and climate policy with familiar faces, but navigating the same dating pool gets tedious to say the least . This got us thinking: In a limited (dried-up?) dating pool, is there hope for romantic dalliances in Menton? With an unbalanced male-to-female ratio, could those yearning for a man even find (catch, and then hold on to) one? Then we thought some more, and we configured a little word problem: If the campus is about 70% female and 30% male, and of the women, 75% are available and heterosexual, and of the men, about half are gay and maybe 25% are in a relationship, how many available, straight men does that leave for the single women, keen and looking? No need to do the math. We are not all EcoSoc majors. To put it simply, the answer is not a lot. And as it has been pointed out, this unequal dating capital has fostered an environment in which “straight men are aware that they have too many options and choose to either ‘play around sexually’ or emotionally manipulate” ( Articulate Survey Respondent #1 ). Is “hookup” culture, then, even a viable option? In such a small community, any sort of relation (wink, wink) is bound to get around. Gossip—a natural form of extending platonic intimacy—is inevitable. Thus, as eloquent as we Sciences Po students are, stories spread. Unless you don’t care about your personal business being aired, entering into any kind of relationship brands you with a respectable scarlet letter of sorts. With all of these obstacles in mind, we had to ask: Did the Sciences Pistes spend Valentine’s Day alone? From “Dry January Extended to Dry February” and “Eating Chocolate Alone in Bed” to “Galentine’s Drinks” and beyond, Sciences Po students were getting busy. Some of the ladies channeled Miley Cyrus and bought their own flowers, while others replaced love with a few rounds of poker. About 30% of respondents were even lucky enough to go on a date (although a couple were restricted to the virtual realm). Even if ‘alone,’ it seems that the mentonnais had no trouble occupying their time. Our very professional—very halal—survey shone light on more than just February 14th-related activities. Be it perceptions of the dating scene, fear of judgement, or just difficulty navigating a multicultural dating scene, a plethora of factors seem to block Sciences Pistes in their pursuit of a fulfilled love life. Maybe hookup culture isn’t the problem. People could be standing in the way of their own happiness, afraid of being the victims of dating gossip. Or maybe everyone is actually in a long-distance relationship (LDRs) and we just don’t know: 67% of those in relationships qualified as LDRs. At 40 responses, we cannot claim that the distribution of survey results is entirely reflected in the Menton campus as a whole (but it is statistically significant!). It seems that the majority of those surveyed perceive a solution to the relationship drought as opening up perspectives, becoming more “progressive.” It is in fact “difficult to date when two people have the same circle, same habits, we know the same persons and are always gonna see each other again on campus.” Others were very candid in their thinking, with one respondent asserting: “Not enough hookups in Menton, the parties need to be spicier!!” ( BDE, take notes. ) But does it have to be that deep? Human beings seek connection—romantic connections are just some in a wider umbrella. If we are mature enough to uproot our lives and move to this far-off place, find our own apartments, sustain ourselves with food (even if it is just pesto pasta), don’t we have the adult-ness to handle interactions with a past hookup or relationship with grace? This could be too much to ask for in a big city. But Menton is different. Things tend to be bigger in our heads (no pun intended). It seems that over 60% of our respondents perceive the Menton relationship culture to be heavily dominated by hookups, while another 30% of respondents view dating culture as pervasive. A few argued that Menton is a mix. What we found to be most accurate was the perception of the 2.5%. These individuals argued that the predominant culture persists as “ gossiping about who everyone else is seeing?” and “complaining about the lack of options.” Yet, the vast majority of respondents indicated that the issue with relationships in general in Menton is that everyone is going to find out, and there’s almost shame … but the ummah is not hooking up very often. Less than a third of respondents reported having sex on a weekly basis—but 40% are in a relationship. And only 30% of respondents are more content with their sex life here, at Sciences Po, than before arriving in Menton… perhaps this response pool overlaps. It most likely does. Don’t despair if you are not content vis-à-vis your “relationship” status. “Ppl [may] suck,” but our time here in this little lemon town is so short. A mere blip in a hopefully long and fruitful life. Although we can’t help the respondent who stated, “the girls here aren’t like her” (that’s tough, man), we may be able to provide some insight into the query: “Why date when you know you’re going to break up?” Doesn’t this extend to every relationship at all points in our lives? When with people from all over the world, the time together becomes all that more precious (even if just for a night). We don’t mean to romanticize ephemeral interest, but if people were more communicative, more open with their interests and wants, less conscientious of speculative judgement at (few and far between) parties, maybe the satisfaction rates would be higher! Who knows, maybe for you 1As, your Valentine’s date for next year just gave a presentation on sanctions in Iraq.

In Palestine, threads carry stories. Each stitch of tatreez — the traditional Palestinian embroidery — embodies memory, identity, and resilience. On a quiet afternoon, an elderly woman sits with fabric in her lap, weaving patterns passed down through generations. < Back Threads of Memory: The Story of Palestinian Tatreez Mariam Mahamid September 28, 2025 In Palestine, threads carry stories. Each stitch of tatreez — the traditional Palestinian embroidery — embodies memory, identity, and resilience. On a quiet afternoon, an elderly woman sits with fabric in her lap, weaving patterns passed down through generations. The colors and motifs are never random; they are symbols of home, heritage, and a history too often silenced. The art of tatreez dates back centuries, rooted in daily life across Palestinian villages. Each region developed its own style: Ramallah with rich red geometric shapes, and Bethlehem with elaborate silk embroidery in deep purples and gold. A woman’s thobe (traditional dress) told her life story: her village, her marital status, and even whether she was expecting a child [Skinner, 2008]. Embroidery was passed down from mother to daughter, ensuring that traditions endured through every generation. Even as modern fabrics and fashions arrived, tatreez remained a cultural anchor, quietly affirming: “This is who we are, and this is where we belong.” Palestinian embroidery forms a visual language. Olive branches symbolize peace and connection to the land; cypress trees represent endurance; birds signal freedom and hope. Colors carry meaning too—red for life and strength, black for resilience, and indigo blue to protect against the evil eye [Kawar & Nasir, 1992]. The stitches themselves vary: cross-stitch dominates, but other techniques like couching and satin stitch also appear in regional dresses [Skinner, 2008]. Motifs were not merely decorative: the fish-eye offered protection, the tree of life stood for continuity, and grapevines symbolized fertility and abundance. These designs, evolving across centuries, became markers of cultural geography and personal identity [Vogelsang-Eastwood, 2010]. More than craft, embroidery was storytelling. Women stitched at weddings, family gatherings, and in the evenings at home, turning fabric into wearable memory. Beyond colors and stitches, tatreez carries meaning through its motifs — a visual lexicon that reflects Palestinian life, beliefs, and environment. Some of the most recognizable patterns include the Tree of Life, symbolizing continuity and rootedness; the Fish Eye, protecting the wearer from envy; the Bunch of Grapes, representing abundance and fertility, especially in Hebron; the Damascus Rose, a mark of beauty and elegance in bridal thobes; and the Moon of Bethlehem, evoking guidance and spirituality. These motifs function not only as decoration but also as cultural memory, weaving personal stories into garments that served as wearable archives of Palestinian identity [Skinner, 2008; Kawar & Nasir, 1992]. Before 1948, embroidery flourished in thriving Palestinian textile centers. Al-Majdal, north of Gaza, was the most important weaving hub, producing fabrics that were exported regionally [Weir, 1989]. Bethlehem became known as the “Paris of Palestinian fashion” for its luxurious couching embroidery and distinctive thobes [Vogelsang-Eastwood, 2010]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikimedia Commons During the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods, European photographers and travelers frequently misrepresented Palestinian dress. Commercial postcards and staged studio photographs circulated widely in Europe, where tatreez was rebranded as an exotic “Oriental costume” rather than a living cultural practice. These images detached embroidery from its social, political, and economic contexts, reinforcing colonial narratives that imagined Palestine as timeless and primitive [Dedman, 2016]. At the same time, European collectors began acquiring Palestinian thobes for museums, treating them as ethnographic curiosities rather than as objects of cultural continuity [Weir, 1989]. Such practices not only distorted the meanings of tatreez but also contributed to its appropriation and decontextualization in the global imagination. Nadar, Wikimedia Commons The Nakba of 1948 disrupted this continuity. Over 700,000 Palestinians were displaced, and many women, now in refugee camps, temporarily set aside embroidery as they assumed new roles to sustain their families. Weaving centers were destroyed, and a generation grew up without learning the craft [Kawar & Nasir, 1992]. Yet by the 1960s, embroidery re-emerged, adapted for survival. Women’s cooperatives, such as INAASH in Lebanon, began training refugee women to produce embroidered dresses, cushions, and wall hangings for income. What had once been a village craft became a national symbol and a lifeline for displaced communities [Kawar & Nasir, 1992]. In refugee camps, tatreez shifted from regional patterns to shared symbols of identity. The Six Branch dress, for example, represented all of Palestine, uniting diverse designs in a single garment. Tiamat, Wikimedia Commons During the First Intifada (1987–1993), embroidery became explicitly political. With the Palestinian flag banned, women stitched its colors and motifs into dresses as subtle but powerful acts of resistance [Dedman, 2021; UNESCO, 2021]. Embroidery had moved from being a regional folk art to a collective expression of national survival. Far from fading, tatreez thrives today. Young Palestinian designers integrate traditional motifs into jackets, handbags, and sneakers, bridging heritage with modern fashion. This revival extends across borders: workshops in Ramallah, Gaza, and refugee camps teach embroidery both as cultural preservation and as economic empowerment. Diaspora initiatives, like Tatreez & Tea in the United States, connect younger generations to their roots [Wafa Ghnaim, 2020]. Social media amplifies this renaissance, sharing tutorials, motifs, and stories with global audiences. What was once a village tradition has become a worldwide movement of heritage and pride. Contemporary motifs even include watermelons—now a symbol of Palestinian resistance—woven alongside ancestral patterns. Mariam Mahamid In recent years, tatreez has also entered the global fashion industry. International brands, including both luxury houses and fast fashion labels, have incorporated Palestinian embroidery motifs into their designs without acknowledgment, sparking debates about cultural appropriation and erasure. For Palestinians, however, contemporary designers consciously reclaim tatreez: figures like Suzy Tamimi, Natalie Tahhan, and labels highlighted in Vogue Arabia reinterpret traditional motifs on modern garments, presenting them not as exotic decoration but as bold declarations of identity. By situating tatreez within both heritage and innovation, these designers challenge the fashion world to respect indigenous cultural knowledge while affirming embroidery as a living practice of resilience [Vogue Arabia, 2020; Museum of the Palestinian People, 2021]. Tatreez is a memory stitched into fabric, a map of Palestine worn on the body, and a testimony of resilience. Each stitch tells a story of women who turned needle and thread into tools of continuity and identity. As many Palestinian grandmothers describe it, tatreez carries the memory of the family and ensures that heritage survives across generations. Bibliography Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood (2010), Encyclopedia of Embroidery of the Arab World. Margarita Skinner (2008), Palestinian Embroidery Motifs: A Treasury of Stitches 1850–1950. Museum of the Palestinian People (2021), Tatreez and Palestinian Identity. Rachel Dedman (2016), At the Seams: A Political History of Palestinian Embroidery, Palestinian Museum Exhibition Catalogue. Rachel Dedman (2021), Seamstress of Survival: Palestinian Embroidery and Identity. Shelagh Weir (1989), Palestinian Costumes. UNESCO (2021), Art of Embroidery in Palestine – Intangible Cultural Heritage. Vogue Arabia (2020), “Palestinian Designer Using Clothes to Preserve Indigenous Culture.” Wafa Ghnaim (2020), Tatreez & Tea Institute. Widad Kawar & Tania Tamari Nasir (1992), Palestinian Embroidery: Traditional Fallahi Cross-Stitch.

A labyrinthine net of characters emerges from the book’s pages; their vices, virtues and contradictions carry questions ranging from Epicureanism to existentialism, from normative political philosophy to Biblical hermeneutics. The distinction between main and secondary characters is often blurred in this framework. The only exception is Prince Myshkin, also known as “the Idiot.” < Back You Need To Read Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot” By Margherita Cordellini September 27, 2022 If ethics, political philosophy and hermeneutics entice you Only a limited selection of books boasts a resemblance to encyclopedias. Those authors who manage to find the hidden connections between fields that rarely go hand in hand offer original lenses through which readers can process and interpret reality. Several 19th-century Russian writers’ works belong to this group; among them, we can find Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot.” A labyrinthine net of characters emerges from the book’s pages; their vices, virtues and contradictions carry questions ranging from Epicureanism to existentialism, from normative political philosophy to Biblical hermeneutics. The distinction between main and secondary characters is often blurred in this framework. The only exception is Prince Myshkin, also known as “the Idiot.” The Prince: a man who does not belong to mankind It is hard to describe the character of Prince Myshkin without utilizing the words employed by Dostoevsky in a letter written on May 27, 1869, in which he referred to him as a “positively beautiful person.” He fully embodies the principles of compassion, altruism, empathy and honesty. After years of illness-induced exile in the idyllic Swiss alpine landscape, the Prince returns to his motherland, Russia. From the second the Prince set foot in Saint Petersburg, he unwittingly disrupts the ordinary unfolding of events, surrounding himself with disarray and grief like a plague-spreader. By guiding the reader through the extremely diverse vicissitudes, Dostoevsky convinces us that this is the only possible result that could arise from the collision between an inhumanly good person and a 19th-century society characterized by a hypocritical social hierarchy and merciless taboos. By gathering intra- and extra-text clues, philosopher Michel Terestchenko, suggests that prince Myshkin is the allegory of Christ. The Prince’s story thus shows the disastrous consequences that would occur, according to Dostoevsky, if Christ should restumble upon Earth. Terestchenko’s pessimistic statement can be analyzed through different hermeneutical levels. Firstly, from a teleological perspective, one could argue that the writer aimed to depict how human flaws are necessary for coexistence in society; that the paradoxical presence of only one human being freed by such flaws would degenerate into collective madness. However, other elements in the novel also hint at an irreverent social critique. Lebedev or modernity understood by a depraved theologian: Dostoevsky mainly confers the role of critic of modernity to the most unsuitable character: Lebedev — a drunkard who embodies the discrepancy between intellectual depth and virtue. Lebedev denounces the social consequences of the still young capitalist system by giving a modern interpretation of John’s Apocalypse, which predicts the extinction of the “sources of life.” He provocatively affirms that railways are what will bring life on Earth to its end. In the beginning, this unreasonable sentence seems to fit with the other aspects of his nonsensical personality. However, in later pages, the symbolic meaning of his thought is unpacked --- railways indicate industrial development that amplify hecticness and noise in society. With the development of transportation, human beings are constantly dissatisfied with the place in which they find themselves at any given moment. The gasping search for happiness distances people from the “only true happiness,” which would be spiritual peace and consciousness. As in Tolstoj’s “Anna Karenina,” the Epicurean understanding of happiness as the product of a complete withdrawal from society reemerges, but this time it is entrenched in the modern infiltration of capitalism (the base) that penetrates collective and individual values and habits (the superstructure). These are the capitalistic ruins that would hypothetically kill Christ upon his resurrection: schizophrenic modernity filled with spiritual taboos and greedy egoism. Forty-four years after Lebedev was written into “The Idiot,” Charles Peguy also denounced the subordination of all “spiritual powers” to a single material one: money. However, Dostoevsky crafts the eccentric drunkard’s personality to offer a metacritique that warns us to be skeptical of modernity’s enemies. In fact, despite having identified modernity’s flaws, Lebedev falls into them more than anybody else, freeing himself, thanks to self-deception, of any moral compass. The conclusion seems to be, once again, of a pessimistic nature, suggesting that immunity to the economy’s moral backlashes does not exist and that, instead, one can merely choose whether to adapt consciously or unconsciously to the status quo. Hippolyte and the cruelty of waiting “The Idiot” would sound outrageous to the ears of any past or present conservative. The first part of the book is soaked in a denunciation of the death penalty, which then lingers in later developments of the story. During Prince Myshkin’s first encounter with some members of the Russian bourgeoisie, he firmly condemns the death penalty by affirming that the executioner commits a more serious crime than the murderer. A person sentenced to death has, in fact, a double conviction: not only will she soon disappear, but she is also aware of that in advance. According to the Prince, physical pain cannot compare to the tremendous torment that the waiting and certainty of death entails. One can find this same reasoning in Franz Kafka’s novel “The Trial,” where Joseph K. is suspected of an unknown crime and awaits a trial that never takes place. Eventually he dies after having been deprived of his life for what seemed to be an eternity. In Dostoevsky’s book, the inhumane burden of the wait is embodied by Hippolyte, an 18-year-old boy in the final stage of tuberculosis. He attempts to escape his sentence by accelerating it with a gun, but he fails because of inattention or survival instinct. His desperation is not met by compassion but by disdain and mockery, which highlight the intolerant posture that Russian 19th-century society had towards public manifestations of grief. This is, however, not necessarily relegated to the context in which Dostoevsky was writing. As Elnathan John wrote in “The Africa Report” last March, the intersection of death and sorrow has little public space in the West today, silenced by the numerous taboos surrounding it. The only person who comprehends the complexity of Hyppolite’s sorrow is, of course, the Prince. The latter, by virtue of his inadequate and radical thoughts (concerning capital punishment, for example), manages to reach realms of empathy unimaginable and unwanted to the other characters. In this case, the idiot is bound to suffer inaction: even a man freed from mankind is powerless in front of an inhumane conviction imposed on a human life

Welcome back, fellow eaters! Last month, I promised you exciting traditional recipes that are quick, easy to make and delicious. Today, I shall fulfill my pledge. Let us celebrate Lebanese independence, acquired on Nov. 22, 1943, with two meals prepared straight from my grandma's kitchen, who, like her fellow Arab grandmothers, does not joke when it comes to food! < Back Whipping Up Lebanese Dishes Has Never Been Easier By Angela Saab Saade November 30, 2022 Welcome back, fellow eaters! Last month, I promised you exciting traditional recipes that are quick, easy to make and delicious. Today, I shall fulfill my pledge. Let us celebrate Lebanese independence, acquired on Nov. 22, 1943, with two meals prepared straight from my grandma’s kitchen, who, like her fellow Arab grandmothers, does not joke when it comes to food! Essential kitchen appliances: One medium or large pot Strainer Knife Wooden spoon Cup (for measuring purposes) Ladle (for serving purposes) “Mdardara” مدردرا Also known as mujaddara in other colloquial Arabic dialects, such as Syrian Arabic, “mdardara” has been one of my favorite meals, especially after transferring to a more vegetarian diet. “Mdardara” is a protein-dense plant-based meal that is convenient to prepare, and it involves lots of lentils, one of my favorite ingredients to cook with (after corn, obviously). Ingredients: One cup of lentils Half a cup of rice Two cups of water One big (or two medium-sized) yellow onion Two tablespoons of olive oil Salt Pepper and curcuma (optional) Recipe: Soak the rice and lentils together in water for 10-20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop your onion into cubes. Add a tablespoon of olive oil in the pot and place it on the stove over low-medium heat. Add the chopped onion cubes and occasionally stir for five to ten minutes. The goal is for the low heat to facilitate an onion-sweating process which should render them slightly translucent. Once your onion is ready, strain the rice and lentils and add them to the pot. Put another tablespoon of olive oil in the pot with the onion, rice and lentils and sprinkle some salt, pepper and cumin to taste. Stir all ingredients together, add two cups of water and bring to a boil. Once the water reaches boiling point, reduce the heat to low, and allow everything to cook slowly. Do not cover the pot or stir the ingredients! Check up on your “mdardara” every few minutes. Once the water is absorbed, give it a taste test and either add some water if the lentils and rice are not fully cooked or turn the heat off. “Mdardara” may be consumed on its own — cold or warm, and it may also be served with your choice of salad or “laban,” a fermented dairy product that I am obsessed with. Sadly, it is unavailable in the stores of Menton. For a “laban” alternative, you can use plain kefir or greek yogurt with a dash of olive oil and salt. “Rishta” رشتا Aside from meaning marriage proposals in Urdu and Hindi, “rishta” also refers to my grandma’s favorite childhood meal, which makes it very dear to my heart. I only learned about it recently over the autumn break, which was the perfect timing for me to be able to share it with you! Is that not truly heartwarming? I can certainly feel our beautiful friendship blossoming with every passing Menton Times Issue. A fellow Sciences Piste brought to my attention that “rishta” is similar to a traditional Italian dish — Pasta e lenticchie. Like its antecedent, “rishta” includes a healthy dose of lentils. Ingredients: One cup of lentils One-two cups of spaghetti (I use tagliatelle, but any kind of pasta works) Six cups of water One large (or two medium-sized) yellow onion One large (or two medium-sized) red onion Two cloves of garlic (or more or less, based on preference) Half a lemon or two to three tablespoons of lemon juice Olive oil Salt Pepper and cumin (optional) One bunch of cilantro leaves (optional) Vegetable broth (optional) Recipe Soak the lentils in water for 10-20 minutes Meanwhile, chop your onions into slices and press two cloves of garlic. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and place it on the stove over low-medium heat. Add the chopped onion cubes and occasionally stir for five to 10 minutes. Allow them to sweat and transform into slices of translucent joy. Once your onion cubes are ready, strain the lentils and add them to the pot. Add another tablespoon of olive oil, and sprinkle some salt, pepper and cumin to taste. Stir all ingredients together, add six cups of water, and keep the temperature high. You may add less water, depending on the end-result texture you want. The less water, the less soup-like the “rishta” will be. You may also add vegetable broth and cilantro leaves for additional flavor. Once the water begins to boil, bring the heat to a low so that everything slowly cooks. Once the lentils are fairly cooked, in about ten-fifteen minutes, break up about a cup or two of spaghetti and put them into the pot. Depending on personal preference and the desired lentil-pasta ratio, more or less spaghetti may be added. You might also have to add more water to cook the pasta if the lentils have already absorbed too much of it. Once the pasta is cooked, turn the heat off. Estimated Price Calculations: Aldi sells five hundred grams of raw lentils for under one and a half euros. This means that a cup of lentils, equivalent to roughly two hundred and fifty grams, costs between half and two-thirds of a euro. Slightly cheaper calculations apply to rice purchased from any of the three big stores, making our rice costs equivalent to about a quarter to half a euro. As for the pasta, the relative quantity used prices under half a euro. The onion(s), olive oil and salt should not amount to more than one and a half to two euros, making each of the aforementioned meals cost under three euros for quantities yielding two to three servings! Fellow eaters, whether my favorite meal or my grandma’s seems more tasteful to you, I hope you give at least one of them a try. It is not common to find traditional Lebanese recipes that do not require long hours of preparation, so I encourage you to seize the opportunity. If any questions or comments should arise in your Lebanese cooking journeys, do not hesitate to contact me or the Google search engine, preferably). Next month, we shall draw inspiration from holiday joy and prepare sweet treats adequate for our seasonal celebrations. Until then, eat up and sahtein !

Feminism does not always require being vocal, an activist, or engaging in mass mobilization. Sometimes resisting is retreating—in the choice to withdraw from cultural pressures knowingly. Dissociative feminism expands the scope of what feminist action can entail. < Back With Prada and Ten Protagonists on to a new self-destruction feminism Lou Hildebrandt March 31, 2025 What do Prada, dissociative feminism and a fictional protagonist using drugs to hibernate for a year have in common? - Novelist Ottessa Moshfegh, who has created literary brilliance with her novels Eileen , My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Lapvona , as well as the short story collection Homesick for Another World . Now, as part of a collaboration with Prada on the brand’s spring-summer 2025 collection campaign, Moshfegh's Ten Protagonists , a collection of short stories, was published in February of the same year. In the short story collection, we see model Carey Mulligan wearing various Prada outfits, each embodying a brief story of one of Moshfegh's heroines. The women give us a glimpse into their professions: a physicist, an interior designer and a corporate translator. Not only their profession, but their lives, too, seem to be diverse, based on what is revealed. Nonetheless, they have something in common: they're all predominantly young, white cis-women who are somewhere on the unlikability spectrum—between counterintuitive and flat-out antiheroine—like Eileen and the narrator of My Year of Rest and Relaxation before them. The Epic of an Antiheroine and Dissociative Feminism The tale of an unlikeable white cis-woman seems to be Ottessa Moshfegh's signature. Her heroines never show any hesitation to disappoint the norms of female protagonists in fiction: they are unsympathetic, disagreeable, occasionally disgusting and driven by their own perverse desires. In Eileen , the main character lives with her drunkard father in a run-down house. Her brooding intellect and peculiar habits—like keeping a dead mouse in the glove compartment of her vehicle or stalking her crush, Randy—are not those of a stereotypical heroine, but rather an antiheroine. The ending is just as dissatisfying, since Rebecca, the one character Eileen looks up to for how organizes she appears to be, turns out to be as unreliable as Eileen. Instead of tackling the challenges of her life, the realization of Rebecca’s irresponsibility gives Eileen the motivation to leave her hometown for good to start all over in New York City. This type of protagonist is featured in My Year of Rest and Relaxation, too. The unnamed narrator attempts to cure her trauma following the death of her parents through radical withdrawal: she locks herself in her apartment in New York for a year, consumes huge amounts of sleeping pills and attempts to erase herself from the world. Her friend, who visits every now and then, is treated with mercilessness and ruthlessness. The protagonist shuts all avenues for empathy; she is completely dissociated. Psychologically, dissociation is the separation of perception and memory, a “ disconnection between a person's sensory experience, thoughts, sense of self, or personal history.” But when women cognitively and emotionally disconnect from their surroundings, it's a survival mechanism. The famous Buzzfeed article by Emmeline Clein, The Smartest Women I Know Are All Dissociating , describes that this gendered dissociation of “women using intellectual detachment to dull pain or avoid emotion isn’t at all a new phenomenon.” Therefore, discussion about feminism and dissociation requires acknowledgement of the specificity of women’s mental health issues. Hence, a construct such as dissociative feminism carries intrinsic solidarity—a mutual knowledge of women's gendered experience of mental health issues. It is an acknowledgment that, instead of meeting expectations pushed upon them, women create coping mechanisms of their own. Re-shaping one’s own suffering and re-narrating it as a feminist tragedy can be regarded as the claiming of agency by a person who lives under patriarchal oppression. The historical and oppressive tale of “female hysteria” is re-appropriated: rather than women being victims of whatever diagnosis, they appropriate dissociation as an act of resistance. They use it as protection against the difficulties of patriarchal life—to endure terrible sex, to filter out toxic men, to avoid the squeeze of productivity. Dissociative feminism also exceeds nihilism and is critical of capitalism. In Moshfegh's novel, My Year of Rest and Relaxation , when the protagonist locks herself up in her apartment for a year, she also evades capitalist exploitation logic. She takes medication to detox herself from work and social life. The book is thus the very definition of dissociative feminism, with a clear emphasis on dissociation. It is not a mere individual retreat but a feminist statement. A Defense of Dissociative Feminism Dissociation isn't apathy; it's a survival mechanism. Women are not dissociating because they ignore patriarchal violence, but because they have to disconnect from it. Active withdrawal is resistance—a safety mechanism against the constant demands of the expectations of society. Identifying dissociative feminism as neoliberal feminism, as many critics have done, disregards its significantly different stance. While neoliberal feminism would call women to adapt to the system, maybe even to embrace a “girl boss mentality” in the face of patriarchal and capitalist injustice, dissociative feminism rejects this entirely. Denial of being productive or emotionally available is a rejection of the capitalist requirement to constantly improve oneself, a resistant non-adherence to the patriarchal view of women as carers and nurturers. Feminism does not always require being vocal, an activist, or engaging in mass mobilization. Sometimes resisting is retreating—in the choice to withdraw from cultural pressures knowingly. Dissociative feminism expands the scope of what feminist action can entail. The same counts for the tale of anti-heroines. Women like Eileen, whose greatest joy is indulging in explosive diarrhea, reject traditional notions of femininity. The way her quirks are shown and how she acts, along with her dark fantasies, is a resistance or defiance of the restrictions that come along with gender-based oppression and the ideology of femininity. Her Ten Protagonists are Ten True Girl Bosses As previously mentioned, the ten protagonists in the eponymous short story collection are as detached from the outer world as in all of Moshfegh’s tales. Interior architect Betty, for instance, recounts how she does not like the collection of things; she says: “It’s important for me to be detached, my hands as clean as a surgeon’s.” Puppeteer Tabitha, who drops out of college after a great realization, which she gets from a fever, says that what makes us human is our inconsistencies. Scientist Tara’s greatest aim is to prove that basic laws of physics and biology are not true, with an eagerness that apparently results in her losing her funding from the university where she is employed. It is unclear whether Tara’s keenness stems from a concern for the planet or plain hatred for humanity itself. he describes her vision as “a world of microbial calm, where the cacophony of human progress is finally silenced.” Some stories entail the narration of dissociation to a greater extent than others. One of the most profound dissociations can be found in Victoria/Veronica —a short story that almost seems like a schizophrenic new interpretation of the classical doppelgänger-motif. This ambiguity is already emphasized with the title and, whilst those are technically two protagonists, we have nine other short stories with protagonists. Since the title of the short story collection tells us that there are only ten protagonists in the book, Moshfegh makes those seemingly two protagonists count only as one. Similarly, it seems to be an element unique to this story, as there have been other short stories where there was a very important secondary character, but without a similar reference in the title. An instance is Cecily , which deals with two actresses, Cecily and Amelia. Amelia is significant for this story, like Victoria is for Veronica’s, yet the story is not named “Cecily/Amelia” but only “Cecily.” This insinuation, that we might be dealing with one person instead of two, is further exemplified by the fact that not once is it mentioned whether the speaker is Victoria or Veronica. The impression that it might, in reality, be only one schizophrenic woman arises through the increasingly sickly appearance of “the sister,” especially in the moments where the narrator does unusual things like sleeping on the ground or in lines like: “Whereas it used to feel easy, now my breathing feels labored. Harder, as if I’m breathing for two sets of lungs.” Another striking line is: “It’s like there’s only one of us.”. “I’m the real me, and you’re the part that watches.” Given that all the protagonist ever does revolves around “the sister,” this makes us question: Could it be that she is hallucinating her into existence? There is not one single activity pursued by the speaker that suggests she has a life separate from her ‘sister.’ On to a New Self-Destruction Feminism So far in the short story collection, we have seen women who are detached, disagreeable and dealing with their mental health problems. However, stories like Rachel give us the impression that with Prada and Moshfegh, we leave dissociation behind and are moving to a new form of self-destruction feminism— the protagonist, Rachel, dissociates and is unreliable to the point of almost driving her lover and herself off a cliff. The story starts off with an “enchanted evening,” in which Rachel spends time with her partner Freddie for the first time. They are in a car and are driving through the most romantic and beautiful scenery imaginable. Then, the scene is interrupted by Rachel almost driving them off a cliff. This was not merely an accident, as is revealed by the lines: “Later it scared me because I thought I had done it on purpose. Because I’d had the thought: I’m happy. Because sometimes just the thought of that is enough to cut you loose.” However, throughout the story, it crystallizes that this was not an instantaneous thought or, even less so, suicidal ideation. To her core, Rachel believes that people should experience situations where they are not safe: “I believe that everyone should, at some point in their lives, get stranded. Or at least get lost. Go missing.” Self-destruction has been a long-standing trope for male geniuses, from literary figures such as Hemingway to musicians such as Kurt Cobain and artists such as van Gogh. Their own destruction is mythologized, keeping the notion of a tortured genius alive. For women, however, the story has been the contrary—writers such as Sylvia Plath have been either fetishized or pathologized just as much as they have been for their mental illness. It took a long time until her art was acknowledged in a similar manner and even today it is questionable whether she is seen predominantly as ‘a mentally ill woman’ or a professional writer. As Heather Clark, in her introduction to Sylvia Plath, explained , people cannot accept women as professional writers as they do for their male counterparts. A reclaiming of self-destruction can therefore be a kind of resistance. This is not to say that everybody should destroy themselves, but when life does, one should not hesitate to use that as a creative source. Rather than constantly urging women to “get through it,” a self-destruction feminism could encourage a form of radical solidarity—one that would understand failure, resignation and breakdown as common experience rather than individual failure. Instead of trying to pathologize or individualize self-destruction, it could acknowledge it as a legitimate response to an unbearable world and create a space where women do not have to be strong but can merely be. Photo source: Wikimedia

Upon arrival in Menton, I enjoyed the scorchingly hot summer weather and the sunshine that the Côte d’Azur is renowned for. As the seasons changed, though, I found myself disappointed by the lack of “gold and saffron and red” leaves, pumpkins and the other autumnal accouterments that I become accustomed to back home. < Back Once Again, the Palestinian Story at Risk of Being Silenced: Netflix’s Farha By Ghazal Khalife December 31, 2022 Rarely is there a movie about Palestine that does not receive political backlash. The Israeli state has been trying to dominate the country’s narrative since the Nakba, especially in the Western world. The Israeli perspective on the Palestinian conflict has often been singled out as the true one. While many question the state’s ongoing aggression (nowhere near as loudly), they rarely question its legitimacy and origins. This is where the movie Farha comes in, using the perspective of a 14-year-old girl to describe the horrors of the Nakba and the atrocities committed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Farha is a movie based on actual events set in a small Palestinian village before the Nakba. Nakba in Arabic translates to “catastrophe,” and no film has been able to exude such a strong connotation of the word disaster. The movie shocks us through its raw illustration of the trauma faced by Palestinians as their villages were destroyed, their families killed, and their lives upturned completely. The film is written and directed by Darin J. Sallam, a Jordanian award-winning director and writer who chose to spotlight Palestinian suffering through the perspective of a young girl seeing her dreams crushed and witnessing the destruction of her people. In this film, we witness the upheaval created by the battles for Israel’s creation; the director transports us from an ambiance of hope with a looming danger to that of absolute tragedy, and since we know how history plays out, we already dismiss the prospect of a happy ending. Sallam enriches the film with the symbolism of a fig tree, gold earrings, and, most importantly, a school registration paper. It makes us ache for what could have been: what Farha’s future could have been and, on a grander scale, what Palestine could have been. It overcomes any filters and showcases the sheer violence, and utter dehumanization of the other as the IDF soldiers raid villages, burning all that stands in their way. Hence, it was predictable that when a film like this was streamed on Netflix, it was received with strong condemnation from the Israeli state. For Israel, this film threatens its legitimacy and version of history and dismantles the power of having a single story. As a result, the film has been subject to immense criticism, manifested as calls to ban it and boycott its streaming network. “The dangers of A single story” To explain why Farha has been met with such hostility and why some have called on Netflix users to cancel their subscriptions, I will use a quote by the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity… When we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise.” To establish one’s story in stone, it is sometimes necessary to neglect or silence alternative ones. Farha being streamed on a global platform risks deconstructing the story propped up by the Israeli state for so long. For the first time, a marginalized narrative reaches: the trauma of a people often misunderstood and misrepresented. The film’s subject matter can be compared to other stories of oppression — many have compared Farha to Anne Frank, with both little girls witnessing extreme and life-altering aggression. A popular Israeli influencer rushed to denounce the movie, calling it “blatantly anti-semitic” and a distortion of history. These claims have no ground in reality, but all they do is serve the Israeli narrative, preventing people, most importantly Israelis themselves, from breaking the barriers of the single story and approaching the other side. Boycotting the movie is boycotting the other, limiting them to a box of prejudice and stereotyping. One might disagree with the film’s brutalist portrayal of IDF soldiers, but it remains crucial to allow it a chance to remain willing to hear another perspective, one of pain. It is impossible to deny that the 1948 Nakba was a time when massive breaches of human rights were committed, where people refused to listen to one another, where one nation was annihilated for the other to survive .

As a Muslim living in France, it has been difficult facing the day to day reality of an extremely charged and hostile political discourse that targets my community. This election has chosen our community as the scapegoat, and while the elites run free from their corruption scandals and the cost of living crisis slaps the most underprivileged communities hardest in the face. Here we are debating my mother’s right to wear a scarf over her head. < Back It’s a Good Day to Fight the System: Students Protest Zemmour By Ismaeel Yaqoob March 30, 2022 ‘’It’s a good day / To fight the system,’’ the famous lyrics by Shungudzo blared out as we stood together, on the Franco-Italian border, in solidarity with the everyday mistreatment of refugees in this exact place. We stood in solidarity with the women, the Muslims, the Jewish people, the disabled, and every minority that Zemmour has targeted in his bigoted campaign for presidency. Sciences Po Menton students did not disappoint, responding avidly to our call out, by in two days, mobilizing a coalition of students, local residents, trade unionists and activists from Italy through Nice. The crowd was a diverse tapestry of people from all around the world, all political colors, races, and languages coming out to reject the visit of Zemmour in Menton. There was something powerful about the moment where hundreds shouted towards the border police that formed a wall between us and Zemmour who was interviewing officers at the frontier post, “Solidarité avec les réfugiés.” We demonstrated that we were not turning a blind eye to the humanitarian crisis at this border and view justice as the right of passage for refugees. Our chants echoed through the town of Menton that day, from “Riviera Antifa,” to “On est tous contre le racisme,” to “solidarité avec les sans-papiers.” Music blared from campus anthems like “C’est la vie” to the Zemmour remix of “Ne reviens pas” to Stormzy’s “Shut Up” to “Boushret Keir.” We brought an energy that older activists told me they had never seen in Menton. They thanked us for giving them hope that the university was producing conscious students with initiative, energy, and drive. As a Muslim living in France, it has been difficult facing the day to day reality of an extremely charged and hostile political discourse that targets my community. This election has chosen our community as the scapegoat, and while the elites run free from their corruption scandals and the cost of living crisis slaps the most underprivileged communities hardest in the face. Here we are debating my mother’s right to wear a scarf over her head. The reality of Eric Zemmour’s discourse is not polemic or controversialWith his plans to force Muslims in France to change their names to something more “french-sounding,” his essentialist view on gender roles, and criticisms of so-called LGBT propaganda, it is outright fascism. Let’s not forget that he has also been convicted twice now on charges of provocation of racial hatred for his numerous discriminatory comments against Muslims. He has also sought to rewrite history, talking up part of France’s collaboration with the Nazis under Petain. This rhetoric is setting France back generations on the progress it has made at the political and legal level when it comes to discrimination and minority rights. A day before the protest we hosted a sign making session, in which students demonstrated their solidarity and disgust at the candidate’s visit with phrases such as “Zemmour rentre chez toi;” “On est tous les enfant d'immigrés;” “Solidarité avec les femmes du monde entier;” “les jeunes contre fascisme;” “LGBTQI fièrement contre Zemmour” “Plus d’amour, pas Zemmour.” The colors, creativity, and designing skills were all a perfect demonstration of the artistic flair and talent within our student body, that was truly activated in this beautiful show of solidarity with all marginalized groups. The truth is that Menton is a beautiful place, where some very ugly things happen. Menton is a town where the streets are perfect and the sun is always shining, but just a few kilometers away, a humanitarian crisis is taking place with daily police violence at the border. It is often easy to turn a blind eye to these things —that is the nature of these operations. They exist, so we do not see anything. This time our small town where the far-right typically flourishes sent a clear message that there is no place for fascists here. Eric Zemmour spends his days running a campaign that targets any and every minority that exists. We marched in solidarity with refugees, Muslims, women, Jews, the LGBT community, immigrants, people of color, and all other minorities to say that we will not let his presence be normalized. We will fight against his politics of hate. We shouted for solidarity with refugees, we shouted to condemn racism and misogyny, we shouted for our community from all around the world. We have taken up space, been loud and unapologetic in our sleepy university town, uniting locals and the international student body alike in a beautiful display of hope, peace and love that we can be very proud of.

Cannes is for the living, Monaco for the playing, and Menton for the dying < Back Ghosts of Menton By Saoirse Aherne October 30, 2021 Beyond the colourful facades of Menton’s old town lies a morbidly fascinating history. Transport yourself back to the 19th century, when the cobblestone streets of Menton were filled with the sound of coughing — perhaps not an unfamiliar scene. However, the hacking and spluttering in the 1860s was not caused by a wave of integrationitis ripping through SciencesPistes. Instead, the cheerful Riviera town we now call home was a fashionable winter resort frequented by aristocrats — many of whom suffered from tuberculosis. If you have ever sworn that Mentonese air is special, you might be onto something. Doctors from the 19th century certainly thought so, most notably James Henry Bennet. We can thank this Briton for putting Menton on the map by recommending it to his tuberculosis-afflicted patients. Bennet believed Menton’s temperate winters and warm dry climate could help to cure tuberculosis. He travelled first to Menton in 1859 after contracting the disease, seeking “to die in a quiet place.” Instead, Bennet experienced a miraculous improvement in his health. He subsequently started a medical practice in Menton, though he would return to Britain during the summers to see patients. Bennet published a number of books in the 1860s and 1870s exploring the role of climate in the treatment of pulmonary diseases, heralding Menton for its rejuvenating weather. By 1882, even Queen Victoria herself had caught Menton fever. In search of a cure for her sickly son Leopold, the monarch spent two months here. Although Leopold did not survive, Menton’s legacy prevailed and by the turn of the century, this little commune was saturated with ailing aristocrats from Britain, Germany, and Russia. Menton came to be known amongst Britons as a town “for the dying”: its beauty and charm drew in famous folks looking for a place to spend their final years, while its reputation for restoring health made it desirable to the sickly. To this day, spirits continue to roam the streets of Menton, and are especially noticeable at this time of year. So let us embark on an exploration of our most interesting local ghosts, their lives, their deaths, and their legacies... William Webb Ellis (1806-1872) Perhaps the most famous of Menton’s deceased, William Webb Ellis grew up in the town of Rugby, England. In 1823, during a game of soccer, Ellis picked up the ball in his hands and ran with it. This bold violation of traditional soccer rules sparked the development of “rugby” style play. Ellis has since been recognized as the inventor of rugby. In 1987, the International Rugby Board decided to honor Ellis by engraving his name into the Rugby World Cup. Ellis went on to become a pastor and then a minister in London. At some point towards the end of his life, Ellis moved to Menton, though it is unclear whether this was due to illness. He died on the 24th of January in 1872 and was buried in le Cimetière du Vieux Château. Next time the ball drifts in an unexpected way during a Mentonese game of rugby, don't be so quick to blame the wind. It just might be the spirit of William Webb Ellis, trying once again to partake in the sport he created. Pyotr Petrovich Troubetzkoy (1822-1892) This former aide-de-camp to the Tzar was a Russian diplomat, administrator and general. His first marriage was to Princess Varvara Yourievna Trubetskoy who was also, coincidentally, his cousin. However, in 1865, he went to Florence on a diplomatic mission and met Ada Winans, an American opera singer. He promptly divorced Yourievna and moved to Ghiffa, Italy with Winans. After a financial disaster owing to the Panama Canal crisis, Troubetzkoy was forced to sell his villa in Ghiffa and relocate to Menton. His love for botany drew him to Menton’s temperate climate and diverse flora. He died here in 1892 and is buried in le Cimetière du Vieux Château. His resting place is hard to miss; it is an ornate Russian orthodox funeral chapel overlooking the city. Some swear that if you venture to the cemetery late at night, you might catch a glimpse of a wispy form, draped in the tattered remains of an Imperial Russian diplomatic uniform. And if you listen very carefully, you might even hear a quiet operatic tune drifting through the tombstones. Though we may never know for certain, perhaps it is the voice of Ada Winans, serenading her husband in death just as she did in life... Ivan Grigorovich (1853-1930) Everyone’s favorite Russian naval minister is indeed a former resident of Menton! Serving from 1911 to 1917, Grigorovich established himself as a competent leader during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05, where he served as commander of the besieged Port Arthur. Following this military defeat, Grigorovich set about expanding and reforming Russia’s navy, leading to his appointment as naval minister in 1911. He maintained healthy relations with naval interests in the Duma and remained popular with Tsar Nicholas II. However, the February Revolution brought about naval unrest, and Grigorovich was dismissed from office in 1917. Grigorovich suffered from frequent bouts of pneumonia and requested to seek medical treatment abroad. In 1923, he was granted permission to leave Russia and seek exile in France, where he lived in relative poverty and made a living by selling his oil paintings. When Grigorovich died in 1930, he was buried in le Cimetière du Vieux Château in Menton. Anatoly Lunacharsky (1875-1933) This Marxist revolutionary was the first Soviet people’s commissar for education. He was also a playwright, critic and journalist. Lunacharsky’s brilliant skills as an orator and position as editor of the first Bolshevik newspaper Vpered solidified his position as one of Lenin’s most active collaborators. He played an important role in persuading the industrial workers of Petrograd to support the October revolution. As commissar for education, Lunacharsky was able to preserve many historic buildings and artwork from destruction over the course of the Russian Civil War. He also introduced a system for subsidizing the arts and attempted to reform the Russian education system. Lunacharsky was responsible for the Soviet Government’s campaign against adult illiteracy, and by the time he left office, virtually zero percent of the adult population in Russia was illiterate. In 1930, he represented the Soviet Union at the league of Nations in Geneva. In 1933, he was appointed Soviet ambassador of Spain. En route to Spain, Lunacharsky stopped in Menton, but he never managed to leave... On the 26th of December, 1933, Lunacharsky died, failing to ever officially take up the post of Ambassador to Spain. Once again, the anecdote of British aristocrats rings true, Menton really is “for the dying.” Lunacharsky’s name was erased from Soviet history and his memoirs were banned during the Great Purge, however his legacy underwent a revival in the 1950s and 1960s. During this time, Lunacharsky came to be viewed as an educated and tolerant Soviet politician. Today, Lunacharsky has had many institutions and even an Asteroid named in his honor. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) The cherry on top of this morbid milieu: old W.B., one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. Born in Sandymount Ireland, this wonderful wordsmith developed a fascination for Irish legends and the occult as a child. These themes certainly translated to his poems, which were frequently based on Irish folklore and ballads. His later work explored the cycles of life, death, prophecy, and history. In spite of his Anglo-Protestant roots, our man of the hour Mr. Yeats was a fervent Irish nationalist and one of the first senators of the Irish Free State in 1922. One year later, Yeats received a Nobel Prize in literature “for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation.” Yeats retired from the Irish senate in 1928 due to illness, but regained vigor in 1934 following a Steinach operation. He lived out his golden years engaging in relationships with much younger women (classic), and in 1936 he travelled to Majorca with Shri Purohit Swami where the two worked to translate the Principal Upanishad from Sanskrit to English. Yeats spent his last two winters in Menton, attempting to escape the cold which aggravated his heart condition. Yeats died at the Hotel Ideal Séjour in Menton on January 28, 1939, and was buried in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. In 1948, his body was dug up and returned to Ireland… or maybe it wasn’t. There is quite a bit of controversy over exactly whose remains were returned to Ireland. You see, Yeats’ body was initially buried in a communal grave in Roquebrune, and though a forensic doctor reconstituted a skeleton presenting all of the characteristics of dear William, it is quite likely that bits and pieces of this beloved poet may still be hanging around the Riviera. Indeed, Bernard Cailloux, the French diplomat tasked with returning Yeats to Ireland stated that it was “impossible to return [his] full and authentic remains.” So if you notice a dark haired bespeckled man wandering along Rue Longue and reciting prose this October 31, it might just be the ghost of Ireland’s pride and joy: William Butler Yeats.

As everyone returned from a long vacation looking forward to starting the new year, students were apprehensive about the 18-hour-long intensive course named “Ecological Literacy.” < Back Are We Desensitized to the Environmental Crisis? By Ghazal Khalife March 31, 2023 As everyone returned from a long vacation looking forward to starting the new year, students were apprehensive about the 18-hour-long intensive course named “Ecological Literacy.” The Sciences Po Menton administration sent an email containing three required readings for this course, each explaining a different angle of the environmental crisis — from the associated inequalities, to the economic challenges posed by it, to its devastating repercussions on our survival. A common attitude towards the course was that of nonchalance, not towards the question of climate change itself, but rather regarding the need to study such a widely explored and “redundant” topic. As a student who insisted on attending each one of these long — at times triggering — lectures claimed “I have noticed that perhaps this course links to a greater overarching theme — desensitization towards the climate crisis as a whole. Maybe we know the facts and we know the repercussions but just cannot bring ourselves to do anything about it.” The course’s main professor, Nathan Marom, was able to harness students’ interest, especially impressive considering the long hours of class in the early morning. Students posed questions, interacted with the teacher and shared their own opinions on factors that exacerbated this existential problem. The class followed a thematic structure alternating from a purely scientific approach to a historical account of the environmentalist movement and, finally, an overview of the economic and hence political undertones of the fight against climate change. These approaches highlighted the multidimensionality of this issue. Among the debates in class that caused the most controversy is the idea around the individual’s role in combating climate change as opposed to government and industry agents. What all students shared, however, was a strong opinion on the crisis, either strongly in favor of radical, systemic changes or in favor of free-market reforms. Everyone knows about the environment’s problems, to differing extents, but not everyone shares the same passionate engagement. In my opinion, the course itself did not introduce any powerful revelations. As Sciences Po students, we have more than likely been exposed to the urgency of climate change and the various economic and political policies aimed at tackling climate change. Nonetheless, the courses serve as a reminder — especially to those of us prioritizing political goals and economic growth — that beyond all the immediate dangers of diplomatic conflict, power imbalances and economic competition are the imminent dangers of global warming, pollution and the depletion of natural resources. Domino Morris, a former environmental sciences International Baccalaureate student, pointed out that the course was interesting and largely coherent in the way it presented the topic. The need behind taking this course and the general attitude towards it coincide as telltale signs of general desensitization towards this pressing topic. Whether on social media or TV, outlets are saturated with content on the crisis. For the average citizen, this could cause a monetary shock or sense of disappointment but not necessarily an impetus for change.

Pour préserver le pacte républicain dont la liberté est un des trois principes, il n’y a aucune difficulté à rejeter les diverses phraséologies que nous avons dénoncées. La liberté d’expression n’est pas un prétexte suffisant pour s’y opposer, au contraire, notre liberté d’expression n’est que la conséquence et l’outil du projet républicain qui va à l’encontre de tout ce que l’extrême-droite promeut. < Back Des tabous sont-ils nécessaires en politique ? Lubin Parisien October 31, 2024 Le 20 septembre, le corps de Philippine est retrouvé au bois de Boulogne. Thomas a été tué à Crépol en 2023. Lola est assassinée en 2022 dans des conditions abominables. Ces trois faits divers ont défrayé la chronique avant d’être oubliés. Ce qui a retenu l’attention d’une certaine presse et de politiques, ce n’est pas l’horreur que constitue l’assassinat d’enfants ou d’adolescents, mais un point précis du profil des accusés: des immigrés sous OQTF (obligation de quitter le territoire français). En quoi cette dernière information nous renseigne-t-elle sur la nature des affaires évoquées plus tôt? Cela ne nous éclaire en rien. En réalité, ces affaires cristallisent autre chose, une angoisse qui semble généralisée sur l’immigration. Ces discours suscitent une montée des violences de groupes ethno-nationalistes et de la violence verbale des politiques dans les médias. Au vu de la division du pays, il apparaît nécessaire de réfléchir collectivement aux bornes à imposer à la parole politique afin de préserver le vivre-ensemble. Des tabous bien présents en politique Pouvons-nous tout dire en politique? A l’évidence non: on ne peut pas nier l’existence de la Shoah—c’est la loi Gayssot de 1990. On ne peut pas inciter à la haine ni faire l’apologie du terrorisme, opérer des discriminations ou encore nier la Shoah. Contrevenir à ces lois ne fait pas qu’attirer les foudres de la justice mais aussi une vive réprobation, même si cela semble de moins en moins vrai. La négation de la Shoah est ainsi un tabou et heureusement. Robert Faurisson a de cette manière été lourdement dénoncé par Robert Badinter, qui incarnait le défenseur de la vérité historique et d’une certaine conception du pays, lors du procès qui lui a été intenté pour diffamation. Le négationnisme ou l’apologie du terrorisme font donc l’objet d’un tabou très fort. On associe souvent le terme de tabou à des pratiques moyenâgeuses et enfiévrées de mysticisme: en réalité un tabou est simplement l’interdiction dont est frappé une pratique ou un discours contrevenant aux normes ou aux valeurs communes. De fait, l’interdiction de la tenue de propos révisionnistes permet d’interdire les discours antisémites sous couvert de fausses controverses historiques. La liberté d’expression n’est pas absolue, on place au-dessus la nécessité de garantir l’effectivité de la devise républicaine pour l’ensemble de la population. Néanmoins, des discours qui excluent des parties entières de la population du pacte républicain sont tenus et semblent passer entre les mailles du filet. Le constat: des discours qui excluent Il nous faut d’abord voir comment une certaine phraséologie fracture le tissu social et l’unité du pays. C’est à partir de ce premier constat que l’on doit réfléchir à l’état actuel des débats politiques et aux éventuels rééquilibrages. Marine Le Pen déclarait le 21 novembre 2023 à Valeurs actuelles au sujet du meurtre de Thomas à Crépol qu’on « assiste à une attaque organisée, émanant d’un certain nombre de banlieues criminogènes dans lesquelles se trouvent des “milices” armées qui opèrent des razzias. » Il est nécessaire de décortiquer cette phrase pour comprendre les sous-entendus. Est criminogène ce « qui produit ou favorise la propagation du crime, des délits; qui donne naissance à la criminalité . » Pourquoi Mme Le Pen qualifie-t-elle les banlieues de criminogènes? Quelles caractéristiques ont les banlieues dans les discours du RN (Rassemblement National) de Marine Le Pen qui expliqueraient la qualité criminogène de ces banlieues? Parle-t-elle souvent des questions urbanistiques liées aux banlieues françaises? Quel critère commun réunit les banlieues des villes françaises dont elle parle dans l’ensemble de ses discours? C’est de l’immigration, en particulier une immigration extra-européenne et musulmane, dont parle couramment Marine Le Pen et ses alliés quand il s’agit de dénoncer les maux dont sont affectées les banlieues. Ainsi, analysons les « milices armées » qui auraient lancé contre Thomas à Crépol une « attaque organisée. » Il y a derrière une idée d’organisation qui permet de décrire ces mêmes banlieues assez fantomatiquement définies comme dotées de communautés propres, indépendantes et séparées: Marine Le Pen entérine là une supposée frontière entre les banlieues et le reste la France, sachant qu’elle associe aux premières une population immigrée. Nous avons là un faisceau d’indices que nous pouvons encore étoffer, et qui, accompagné de la connaissance du contexte idéologique dans lequel s’exprime Mme Le Pen, montre une volonté d’entériner la marginalisation—si ce n’est l’exclusion—de certains territoires et de certaines populations de la République. Ces discours, associant immigration et délinquance, islam et séparatisme, excluent une partie importante de la population en remettant en cause et en posant la question de leur volonté de faire nation ou de vivre en paix, et ce à cause de déterminants identitaires supposés qui leur seraient propres: l’islam et leurs origines. Faisons ensuite un second constat: ce genre de propos inquiète. Ils inquiètent notamment les immigrés, qu’ils soient français ou non, qu’ils soient sur le territoire de façon régulière ou non—avec dans ce dernier cas une grande diversité de situations, de la pure clandestinité au blocage administratif. Par exemple, le journal local L’Union a recueilli le témoignage d’Eliane , arrivée de Guinée en 2014. Son titre de séjour n’est pas renouvelé en 2023 alors qu’elle a trouvé un emploi stable, sa demande de naturalisation s’est perdue dans les oubliettes de la préfecture de la Marne: avec les législatives de 2024, « elle craint que l’étau ne se resserre par pure idéologie. [...]. “Je ne regarde pas trop la télévision parce que c’est l’heure où je rentre ou bien je m’occupe des enfants. Ils m’ont demandé si on allait devoir partir.” » Citons encore le témoignage d’Aliy (son prénom a été modifié): « L’année dernière, il [...] devait supporter un patron pro-Zemmour. “Quand son fils venait, il ne nous parlait pas, à nous les Noirs. Il ne nous regardait même pas”. » Les discours d’un parti comme le RN et de toute une galaxie d’extrême-droite ne sont pas de simples projets débatables sur la politique du pays, ce sont des discours qui remettent en question l’intégration de millions de personnes. Ces dernières n’ont plus—ou n’ont jamais eu—le sentiment d’appartenir à la même société à égalité avec le reste des habitants et citoyens. Ces discours heurtent, ils nous incitent à nous demander si notre pays est bien capable d’accepter des minorités comme les personnes racisées. A ce titre, la possibilité de porter de telles idées doit faire l’objet d’un débat clair car il s’agit de savoir quel commun nous voulons construire. La préservation d’une liberté d’expression Pour défendre la possibilité de prononcer des discours qui excluent et archipélisent la société, on invoque souvent la liberté d’expression, droit fondamental inhérent à chaque individu. L’article 11 de la Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du citoyen énonce: « tout citoyen peut donc parler, écrire, imprimer librement, sauf à répondre de l'abus de cette liberté dans les cas déterminés par la loi. » Tout le malice réside dans la notion d’« abus ». Remarquons cette chose sans doute banale: la liberté d’expression n’est pas absolue et sans bornes, nous l’avons déjà montré au sujet de la loi Gayssot contre la négation de la Shoah. La régulation de l’expression politique ou même de l’expression tout court quand elle a un impact politique est une vieille idée. Dans La République , Platon consacre des passages entiers à analyser des vers d’Homère afin d’expliquer pourquoi ceux-ci doivent être bannis de la cité cherchant à guérir des maux de l’injustice pour assainir les réflexions des gardiens de la cité. Il considère même que les poètes promouvant l’affadissement de l'esprit des gardiens de la cité et l’excès doivent être chassés. Platon a à peu près 2400 ans, il convient de hausser les sourcils sur ses préconisations. Néanmoins, abstraction faite du projet politique concret du philosophe, cela fait plus de 2400 ans que nous savons que les discours politiques prononcés dans la cité modèlent notre façon de penser et de percevoir. La maîtrise de la parole est un enjeu majeur identifié par Platon et par toutes les monarchies, dictatures et démocraties pour se maintenir en plus de deux millénaires. Cependant, il est vrai que la liberté, notamment celle d’expression, est souvent associée à un étrange relativisme qui consiste à dire que toutes les opinions se valent, qu’on peut tout dire. Il nous faut réfuter ces réflexions communes: tout projet politique—la République par exemple—porte un idéal absolu et non négociable. La liberté, l’égalité et la fraternité sont cet idéal en France, et nombreuses sont les interprétations possibles pour sa mise en application, c’est pourquoi il faut laisser un large pluralisme politique pour enrichir ces valeurs. Nous avons parlé des limites à la liberté d’expression, mais les contraintes à cette limitation sont les mêmes: la perpétuation de la liberté et le respect de l’égalité. Il ne faut pas de censure comme les dictatures savent en faire, il faut bien au contraire que les tabous à observer dans notre société fassent l’objet d’une réflexion collective éclairée. Si la liberté d’expression n’est pas une fin en soi, c’est un instrument indispensable. Une repolitisation de nos tabous? Aujourd’hui, après la décolonisation et les progrès permis par l’accroissement de la tolérance, il convient de ne pas utiliser des mots comme « négre » ou « bougnoul » car il s’agit désormais de termes qui renvoient à une mémoire douloureuse et à un présent qui doit toujours se défaire des griffes du fait colonial. Ces mots font l’objet de tabous tels qu’on n’ose pas les prononcer, remplacés par exemple par l’expression « n-word ». L’opprobre dont sont objets ces mots montrent que la société n’est plus encline à voir les manifestations éclatantes du racisme et de l’exclusion. Néanmoins, des discours comme celui de Marine Le Pen que nous n’avons que brièvement décortiqués sont publiés et presque normalisés. Nos tabous ne semblent pas être le fruit d’une réflexion collective aboutie. En ce sens, on peut proposer une repolitisation de nos tabous. Il ne faut pas éviter le mot « négre » car c’est inconvenant ou désagréable, mais parce que l’usage courant de ce terme perpétue des structures de domination blanche héritée de la colonisation. Il faut proscrire les discours racistes et dédaigneux de l’extrême-droite car ils vont à l’encontre de notre projet politique commun: faire nation. Ernest Renan, dans Qu’est-ce qu’une nation en 1882, écrit qu’une nation a deux facettes: « l’une est la possession en commun d’un riche legs de souvenirs; l’autre est le consentement actuel, le désir de vivre ensemble. » Lorsqu’un discours remet en cause l’appartenance ou la volonté d’appartenance d’une partie de la population, il sape méthodiquement la base de toute nation: la volonté commune de faire corps. En France, cette volonté s’incarne dans la devise républicaine. On peut céder à la grandiloquence en disant que pour défendre la nation, il faut faire taire le poison de la division. Par division, on n’entend pas les nécessaires désaccords sur les politiques à adopter, mais au contraire l’éclatement même de la nation. Et c’est bien là la conséquence des propos d’une Marine Le Pen. Le doute est instillé quant à l’inclusivité de la nation, car les immigrés, les personnes racisées, etc. se sentent et se savent exclus du pacte républicain. Pourtant, la tolérance s’accroît dans la société même si les résultats électoraux ne le marquent pas . Il faut sortir de ces situations mortifères, il faut stopper le poison avant qu’il puisse être proféré. Pour préserver le pacte républicain dont la liberté est un des trois principes, il n’y a aucune difficulté à rejeter les diverses phraséologies que nous avons dénoncées. La liberté d’expression n’est pas un prétexte suffisant pour s’y opposer, au contraire, notre liberté d’expression n’est que la conséquence et l’outil du projet républicain qui va à l’encontre de tout ce que l’extrême-droite promeut. Ces tabous doivent être investis de la force de la loi, à terme il n’y a pas à avoir de gêne à combattre structurellement les idées du RN, de Reconquête, de l’Action française et notamment la préférence nationale. La question aujourd’hui doit être de savoir comment procéder. Un fait apparaît désormais clairement: des tabous sont nécessaires en politique car ils protègent ce qui permet la politique: la volonté de vivre ensemble.

‘’We must experience everything. Not just the good, but degradation, horror, sadness. This makes us whole, Bella. It makes us people of substance. Not flighty, untouched children. Then we can know the world. And when we know the world, the world is ours.’’ < Back Poor Things By Francesca di Muro February 29, 2024 ‘’We must experience everything. Not just the good, but degradation, horror, sadness. This makes us whole, Bella. It makes us people of substance. Not flighty, untouched children. Then we can know the world. And when we know the world, the world is ours.’’ This is one of the quotes uttered by the protagonist of the film “Poor Things,” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and released in cinemas in January 2024. Inspired by the homonymous novel written by Alasdair Gray, “Poor Things” can be considered a postmodern revision of Frankenstein It replaces the classic monster with Bella Baxter, a woman who committed suicide and was then brought back to life thanks to a brain transplant of the child she was carrying at the time of her death. Defined as a hilarious political allegory; a raw and self-deprecating portrait of society and its contradictions, of human desires and their most animalistic instincts; between patriarchal visions of society, female independence, and sexual awakening. “ Poor Things” is nothing more than a visual bildungsroman depicting the growth and development of a woman who navigates in a society strongly dominated by sharp moral judgments, which chases her being in a continuous process of self-determination and affirmation. What is particularly striking is how Lanthimos pushes interpersonal relationships to their extreme; boiling down individuals to their inner desires, bodies, and smells. In short, Bella Baxter represents what is a child’s vision of society and its contradictions, far from its conventions and norms. The result is a true portrait of the development of post-enlightenment philosophical thought: from the Scientific Revolution's rationalism to the emotional liberation of Romanticism, transcendentalism, Marxism, and, finally, the Absurdist acceptance of the flawed yet fulfilling lives we lead. By transcending the boundaries of conventional storytelling and delving into philosophical inquiries that challenge the audience's perception of morality, identity, and societal constructs, Lanthimos presents a compelling exploration of the nature of humanity and consciousness. Central to the philosophical underpinnings of "Poor Things" is the concept of agency and autonomy. Upon her revival, Bella navigates a world where her agency is both constrained and manipulated by the forces around her, particularly by Dr. Baxter. Her journey prompts viewers to reflect on the nature of free will and the extent to which external influences govern individuals. Through Bella's struggles and choices, Lanthimos invites audiences to ponder the complexities of human autonomy and the ethical responsibilities that come with wielding power over others. Moreover, "Poor Things" offers a trenchant critique of societal norms and structures. Lanthimos uses the absurdity of Bella's situation to satirize the conventions of Victorian society, exposing the hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy that underpin its facades. Through the characters' interactions and the absurd situations they find themselves in, the film invites viewers to question the arbitrary rules and hierarchies that govern society and consider alternative modes of existence. Furthermore, the film engages with philosophical themes of identity and selfhood. Bella's resurrection results in a fragmented sense of self, as she grapples with memories and experiences that may not entirely belong to her. This exploration of identity raises profound questions about the stability of the self and the extent to which external influences shape it. Lanthimos challenges viewers to interrogate their own sense of identity and consider the fluidity of the self in the face of external forces. In addition to its thematic richness, "Poor Things" is characterized by Lanthimos's distinct visual style and narrative approach. The film's deadpan humor and surreal imagery create an atmosphere that is both disconcerting and captivating, drawing viewers into its philosophical inquiries through unconventional means. Lanthimos's masterful direction imbues every frame with symbolic resonance, inviting audiences to decipher the deeper layers of meaning beneath the surface. And, to conclude, according to Lanthimos, we are all changeable, facing the overwhelming struggle to live under precise norms and customs. And at the same time, we are all poor things. This consciousness can break us or, on the contrary, evoke a sense of empathy for humanity, leading us to dance in an uncoordinated and childish way like Bella Baxter in a Victorian dining room. “I am a changeable feast, as are all of us.”