< Back The Turbulent World of French Politics and How It Affects Me Stanimir Stoyanov French politics are notorious for being turbulent and complex, and in 2024 especially, France experienced some important shifts in its political landscape. In this context, many people, foreigners in particular, have had a difficult time grasping the political landscape of France. Be it the language barrier or the tongue-twisting, understanding what's happening in France is certainly a demanding task for newcomers. This has led me personally and many other Sciences Pistes to question what effect the current political situation will have on us. This article will present a brief overview of recent events and explain how these developments impact our lives as students at SciencesPo. I. What happened? In the second round of the 2022 French presidential election, Emanuel Macron won 58,55% of the votes against Marine Le Pen, with 41,45% . While still a victory for the current president, the election showcased a continued rise of support for the right-wing leader Marine Le Pen. The election was also marked by the lowest voter turnout ( 72% ) since 1969, raising questions about voter apathy. While political awareness in France remains high, a large part of the population has trouble identifying with politics and disregards their importance. The tensions kept rising as the status-quo was being more and more challenged by the opposition and in January 2024, France experienced severe political turmoil. The ruling government, led by then Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, didn’t have a majority in parliament, making the legislative process a tougher challenge. In January as an attempt to counter the far-right’s influence, Macron backed a controversial migration law , simplifying the deportation process and making immigration to France much more difficult for non-EU foreigners. This was followed by the resignation of Elizabeth Borne on Jan. 8. Afterwards, on Jan. 9, Macron appointed Gabriel Attal as PM and organized a cabinet reshuffle. This was all in an effort to mitigate the rise of support for the opposition ahead of the 2024 EU Elections. In June 2024, French voters headed to the polls for the European Parliament Election and showcased significant support for Le Pen’s far-right party, the National Rally ( Rassemblement National), which was the front-runner with a remarkable 31,37% . This raised doubts about Macron's authority, leading him to dismiss parliament and schedule snap elections on the 30 June and 7 July. While this move is recognized as an attempt to both consolidate support and bring the attention to the public, it can also be viewed as an unprecedented political gamble. The results of the election showcased the severe social fragmentation with no party gaining a clear majority. The current division of parties in parliament is as follows: *Data compiled from French National Assembly website https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/ , as of Sept. 13 2024. As can be seen, the National Rally party has the most seats, yet no party has a majority. Further, even when looking at possible coalitions within parliament, the main coalitions Nouveau Front Populare (left-wing), and the Ensemble (Macron endorsed) also do not have a majority to form a stable government. The right-wing parties remain divided and are not likely to form a coalition. This means that France currently has a hung parliament, making forming a stable government a formidable task. II. Who is the current French Prime Minister? Following the election in July and Gabriel Attal’s resignation, President Macron had to appoint a new Prime Minister. This was a tough choice, seeing how it needed to be a figure that can gather support from allies and opposition alike. On Sept. 5 2024, Michel Barnier from the Les Republicans party was appointed as Prime Minister. The choice was controversial and followed by backlash from the left coalition NFP, which have the most seats and advocated for their candidate Lucie Castets . In his first interview as PM , Barnier presented his stances on the current situation and promised to form a government that is not just right-wing, but also compromises with the left. He has said he will attempt forming a government in the upcoming week. Should he not gather the support of parliament, the opposition can call a vote of no confidence, where parliament can vote for removing him as PM. Barnier is particularly insistent on his tough stance on migration, following Macron’s attempts to appease the right as a response to Le Pen’s momentum gains. Macron and the Ensemble alliance have always had a more lenient view towards migration, but public opinion has made them toughen their stance. III. How are foreign students studying in France affected? The political turmoil has led to many changes in French society: economic challenges, increase of political protests and violence and a more negative lookout towards migration. The situation has also led to many strikes across France including train strikes in the Côte d'Azur region in August. Such strikes are also planned for the Fall, which raises concerns for Menton students. T he migration law that was passed in January increased requirements for acquiring a visa and made it more difficult for migrants to establish work in France. As part of drafting said law, politicians from Les Republicains, supported by the far-right, succeeded in adding an amendment concerning international students, requiring them to prove every year they are enrolled in a “real and serious programme” and to deposit a sum of money returned after their graduation. These changes were not supported by Macron and were later proven unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council. In the final draft of the law there was no mention of international students. Hitherto, political conversation on the topic has shifted far away from the matter of international students. The ongoing migration legislative efforts mainly concern migrants outside the EU and streamlining of the deportation process. Impact for students is not as severe, beside stricter requirements for visa applications for those outside the EU. Still, uncertainty reigns among students who are not sure how they are affected by the puzzling world of French politics. For now there does not seem to be any imminent danger towards the status of international students seeing how such measures are seen as too controversial and unnecessary for parties on all sides of the spectrum. IV. Final words The changes happening in France now affect our daily lives mainly when it comes to price increases and heightened social tensions. Previously I was hearing many different things, including false news about the dangers that can arise from the political turmoil and it was fairly intimidating. I believe many fellow students also relate to this feeling, but after gathering more insight into the situation, I personally am now more confident as a student in France. While there is no need for us students to fear in this current status, we must remain educated on the matter and follow up with the latest developments to be better informed about the changes happening in France. The domestic political landscape is moving rapidly and is full of unexpected twists. While it might be difficult for foreigners to adjust to it, it is valuable to be well-versed in such topics, in order to know if we are affected by them. Previous Next

Sports Recap — January 2023 < Back January Sports Recap By Hugo Lagergren January 31, 2023 Football The January player transfer window has now closed. Some teams splashed the cash, while some were more restrained in their approach and waiting for the summer window to do most of their serious business. Perhaps the most significant news to come out of the January window was Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr FC following his departure from Manchester United, where he had a falling out with several management figures, including manager Erik Ten Haag. Ronaldo has signed for two and a half years, extending his playing career until June 2025. The contract is reportedly worth a whopping 150 million USD per season. Ronaldo returned to the field as Al Nassr lost 4-5 to Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), reuniting him with his old rival. The Telegraph described the match as “the sordid final chapter of our era’s greatest football rivalry.” Questions have been asked of Chelsea FC and their possible violation of Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) Financial Fair Play regulation. Since U.S. billionaire Todd Boehly acquired the team last May, Chelsea have spent nearly half a million GBP on transfers. FIFA caps club spending at 105m GBP per season, and Chelsea have spent over four times that amount in the last six months. However, transfer fees are spread across the length of their contract. Chelsea recently signed Ukraine’s Mykhailo Mudryk for an eight-and-a-half-year contract and a hefty price of 88.5 million GBP, with other contracts ranging from five to six years. Arsenal have continued their impressive run at the top of the Premier League table by beating Manchester United 3-2 after a scintillating performance by Bukayo Saka. Fans are increasingly confident that this season will end their 19-year wait for a Premier League title. RC Lens closed the gap to current league leaders PSG by three points as PSG lost 1-0 to Rennes. OGC Nice are looking for a replacement for veteran Dante, who is likely to retire at the end of the season. Nice, who have had a poor start to the season, are looking to bolster their team in hopes of stronger performance. Tennis Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the 2023 Australian Open, equaling Rafael Nadal's all-time record of 22 Grand Slam titles. The title marks his 10th Australian Open win, the most of any tennis player. Speaking after the match, Djokovic stated that it had “been one of the most challenging tournaments I’ve ever played in my life”. At the age of 35, Djokovic has shown no sign of slowing down in recent years, as he remains one of the most difficult players to play for the new generation of tennis players. Formula 1 Teams have started to announce the launch dates to showcase their cars for the 2023 season, with Red Bull being the first to launch their car on the third of February. The rest of the launches will follow in the next fortnight. Steve Nielsen has been appointed as Sporting Director of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. This job switch from a high-ranking Formula 1 job requires him to oversee race-control operations, which have been at the heart of recent controversies, including during Max Verstappen’s first title-winning season. Boxing Youtuber/boxer/rapper KSI announced his ambition for Misfits Boxing, his promotional company, and their partnership with DAZN boxing to become a serious fighting arena. KSI defeated Faze Temperrr only a minute into the first round, after which he spoke passionately about his event's potential to compete with major fighting institutions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His fight reportedly accumulated an impressive 300,000 pay-per-view buys. Rugby With the Six Nations tournament approaching, England Rugby fans will have been relieved to hear that Captain Owen Farrell has been cleared to play. He was handed a four-match ban after a high tackle during a league match against Gloucester.

While many might still view the opposition to the Super League as being excessive, it is important to understand that these athletic communities seek to maintain the integrity of what is fundamentally a game that unites and empowers people, no matter their class, race, religion, sexuality, disability. < Back European Super Greed: The Rapid Rise and Spectacular Fall of the European Super League By Hugo Lagergren October 30, 2021 Football plays a unique role in Europe, and specifically in the UK. It breaks down the class barriers that often come between the working class and the middle class, and it unites them behind a common cause. The UK Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, described this phenomenon in a speech to the House of Commons in which he criticized the Super League: “Football clubs aren’t just businesses; they define communities across the country.” For 56 hours, however, these communities united beyond even the geographical divides that usually act as barriers, and united against the financial giants that were at the helm of this project. This David v. Goliath moment is the brief story of how these communities managed to topple the commercial master plan of a handful of greedy European bureaucrats. Reports began to break of a rumored “breakaway” European Super League during a match between Arsenal and Fulham on Sunday the 18 of April. Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal Football Club, was asked about the rumors after the game. His lack of knowledge or involvement was apparent from his double take after the project was mentioned. This interaction is a perfect example of the disconnect that was in place prior to the project between the owners of these clubs, and the footballing communities that they preside over. The suggested project involved 12 clubs breaking away from their respective national and international competitions and forming a new, exclusive championship. It is precisely this idea of exclusivity that was a central reason for the project’s unpopularity. Domestic championships are a tier-based system. They reward clubs for merit and punish them for inadequacy through promotion and relegation between championships. Despite the financial disparity that exists between clubs, this gives them all the opportunity to challenge “the Big Six” (Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham & Arsenal); these teams being the six wealthiest in the UK (prior to the recent takeover of Newcastle United by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia). An example of this type of success story is when Leicester City F.C. went from playing in the Championship, the second division of English football, to winning the Premier League in the space of three years. While this type of event occurs less and less due to the increasing wealth gap between clubs, the important thing is that it remains a possibility, despite its unlikeliness. This possibility of challenging the bigger teams and winning incentivizes fans of smaller clubs to get back behind their teams in a more active manner. This includes attending football games and buying club merchandise, which provide the club with active moral and financial support. An exclusive championship without the possibility of failure through regulation would also motivate players less as they would be guaranteed the same quality of football games each year. This demotivation would become even more pronounced as a breakaway league would remove the financial bonuses that are often included within each players’ contracts which reward exceptional individual performance, in the context of high team performance. The argument of those driving the project, notably Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid C.F., is that the Super League will “save football” through the millions of euros it would receive in television and sponsorship revenue. In addition to this, the project would include the 12 most successful teams in Europe in order to create a league with a high level of skill, thus making it an attractive concept for football fans world-wide. However, both arguments were unsatisfactory and, more importantly, unconvincing in the eyes of supporters across the globe, and particularly in Britain. Firstly, the poor planning on behalf of the business titans behind the project manifested the disconnect that exists between owners and fans. The prioritization of money over supporters in an attempt to reinvigorate the football economy reflects a complete misreading of the footballing community, as the leaders of the project rapidly came to understand following many fan-led protests across the country. While the argument of creating a league that plays more attractive football may appear to hold more weight, fans argued instead that such a project would, in actual fact, render football more boring and less attractive for fans. They argued that the existing international competition, the UEFA Champions League, was special because it is infrequent. The fact that matches from this competition were rare during the football season and often brought similarly successful European teams in contact created a certain aura and hype around the competition, which fans argued would disappear with the creation of the Super League, as it would sensitize them to elite-tier football. It is interesting to consider such an argument from a scientific perspective as well, to better comprehend this idea of sensitization, as it holds some scientific weight. The hypothalamus, a section of the brain responsible for maintaining constant certain aspects of the body, such as heart rate, blood pressure and hormone levels, releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine to amplify a person’s feeling of pleasure during any kind of enjoyable activity. When continued amounts of dopamine are injected into one’s system, it causes the person to become resistant to the effects of dopamine, and thus receive less pleasure from the same amount of dopamine. This is what many football fans think could happen as a result of the creation of a Super League. As well as the heavy opposition from the army of English supporters, there was also significant political pressure from leading European politicians, including Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron, which led to the project’s suspension. The project’s clear unpopularity provided governments with the opportunity to side with fans and gain favor among voters and none made more use of this opportunity than Boris Johnson, who, as Prime Minister of a stagnating economy and fragile, post-Brexit union, needed a story to divert attention from Britain’s domestic issues. As a European football official said, “not all politicians are football fans, but every politician is aware that every fan is a voter.” The pressure created by the possibility of political intervention was pivotal. However, this was only made possible by the strength of the popular revolt against the project. This debacle has highlighted the problems of greed and elitism that currently plague the football industry and has raised important questions as to how club ownership should be structured. Many have referenced the German 50+1 structure which prevents any one body being the majority stakeholder in a club by placing 51% of the club’s ownership in the hands of fans. Chief reporter Tobi Altschaeffi of the German sports newspaper SportBild stated that it is precisely this ownership structure that creates such a strong community surrounding the club, as it involves fans in a more active manner. Boris Johnson went as far as to announce a “root-and-branch investigation into the governance of football and the role of fans in that governance.” Oliver Dowden went on to mention the governance structure that German clubs employ as a possible influence, if there were to be a restructuring of Premier League club ownership. One would hope that government intervention is not necessary. However, as has been the case time and time again, owners have consistently shown a lack of empathy with their club’s players and supporters and the wider footballing community, and have chosen instead to put their own monetary gain first. While this does create a cause for concern, the speed at which the project was reversed due to public outcry and political pressure should also give football fans confidence that there is a strong enough community to keep these billionaire owners and business titans in check. While many might still view the opposition to the Super League as being excessive, it is important to understand that these communities only seek to maintain the integrity of what is fundamentally a game that unites and empowers people, no matter their class, race, religion, sexuality, disability or any other factor which divides us.

< Back Organized Crime, Migration, Prostitution: A Hidden Link or an Obvious Collaboration? By Greta Murgia November 30, 2021 When it comes to organized crime – or mafia – and migration, it is commonly known that there is a hidden yet indissoluble connection between the two. What is the extent of the link between migration and organized crime? How can the phenomenon be explained? What are the different fields affected by this phenomenon? From migration to prostitution Migration is one of the most profitable sources of gain for the mafia, since it represents a persistent and flourishing business which involves different agents and actors. Since immigration towards Europe and, more specifically, Italy is constant, the mafia is extremely present, as it is easy for parties practicing organized crime to build connections with Northern Africa’s communities, and play a major role in human trafficking. The Juju’s Ceremony – Nigeria and sex trafficking One of the most lucrative aspects of mafia’s business around immigration is prostitution. The main country from which the girls originate is Nigeria: here, major importance is given to the Juju’s ceremony, still quite unknown in Europe, but relevant when it comes to the flow of immigration related to prostitution. Between ages 12 and 17, girls living in the Edo State and the Delta State in Nigeria, and belonging to the Juju religion, go through a ceremony led by the town’s priests. The priests collaborate with the smugglers operating in the region, as well as with “ madams ” (women, who have been prostitutes themselves), and conduct the ritual to get the girls’ loyalty and full support. This all relies on the power of superstition and religion. The fear that the dead will chase and kill them – or make them crazy – if they ever try to escape from their protectors or refuse to pay a debt makes these girls prisoners of the smugglers and the madams . This is the process that pushes them, consciously or not, towards the world of European prostitution. Once under the protection of human traffickers, who promise the girls a better future and a good job in what is presented as the “promised land,” there is little chance for the girls to improve their situation or reconquer their lost freedom. Without accessing money nor savings through prostitution, the girls are in the hands of the traffickers, who take them through the exhausting and frequently deadly travel to an unknown land. During this journey, the girls have no way of going back to their hometown nor asking for help. Only once they arrive – if they arrive – to Italy or to the other European countries, they find out they have been lied to: the promised land with the numerous possibilities of success turns out not to be as promised, and the hard reality is that they find themselves alone, in an unknown and often unwelcoming country. Moreover, they have no documents nor knowledge of the language, but they have a debt to the traffickers of about 30,000 euros. They are therefore forced to work for the smugglers who paid for the trip, as well as the food and shelter they are provided with. They are aware that because of their illegal condition they can’t rely on external help and the Juju ceremony makes it unthinkable for them to denounce their protectors. Most of them end up living in buildings usually owned by criminal associations for years, without any real possibility of change. The role of SPHR and Caritas in Ventimiglia When SPRH (Sciences Po Refugee Help) goes to Ventimiglia to provide food and support, girls and women are almost never alone: they are accompanied by men who define themselves as cousins, boyfriends or husbands, and the volunteers rarely have the chance of talking to them alone. This is because the protectors know that, being alone, the girls might ask for help, and succeed in getting out of their situation. Caritas is an organization that takes care of women who are embedded in prostitution. In Ventimiglia, it offers women and their children shelter and food, and provides them with the help they need to get out of their critical situation. No men are allowed in the buildings offered to women by Caritas, and victims slowly gain confidence and find the courage and the mental strength needed to reach the practical independence to get out of their condition. The main criminal organization dealing in the immigrants’ business in Ventimiglia is called ‘Ndrangheta, as Rocco Ciarone states in the essay “Mafie del Nord.” Non-profit organizations and Law Another interesting fact is that those who are attempting to make a difference while working on the ground and truly engaging in the cause are volunteer-based non-profit organizations, and not the authorities, the State, nor the police. In fact, the system in France allows immigrant women to ask for citizenship only if they can provide proof of not having been part of the prostitution network – which is, even if true, extremely hard to provide. For this reason, some associations help women in the process by providing them with testimonies attesting that they have never seen them in a prostitutions’ environment. Such organizations are very few and hard to find, and this kind of solution cannot apply to every case and woman: this shows how flawed and desperate for change the system is when it comes to migration policies. A sense of fear and gratitude Another factor that makes it difficult for women to get out of the prostitution network is a sense of gratitude towards their guardians, even if unjustified and unneeded. The awareness that protectors represent the only option of safety, and the fact that the authority will not help them and could instead work against their situation, pushes the women to contribute to the vicious circle of submission and resignation. Organized crime and mafia – denounce or support? And what is the role played by criminal organizations, and especially by the mafia, in the field? It is hard to determine, as there are multiple ways for organized crime to profit from immigration – this ranges from prostitution, to the dealing of drugs, to forced labor – and immigrants have no reason nor incentive to denounce such organizations. If they do, they will lose the protection they are being provided with by their smugglers: on the other side, the State will not provide them with help nor support. On the contrary, it will most probably condemn and expel them from the country. In fact, these women are not only illegal immigrants, but they have also collaborated with the mafia in illegal businesses. How do we detect the presence of organized crime? Another factor that makes it difficult to detect the presence of mafia on the territory is its fluidity: especially on the border, migrants move suddenly, and people who are in one place one day, might be hundreds of kilometers away shortly afterwards, complicating the process of detecting how and where organized crime behaves. The problem does not rely on the immigrants themselves, as it is not their wish to become drug dealers or prostitutes, but it lies in the European Union and in states’ inefficient and unsuccessful handling of the immigrants’ crisis. If nations unite themselves in order to find a common and efficient solution, a lot of progress could be made, and such extreme situations would be rarer. Through cooperation, a solution could be possible.

Why the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United is a dark day, not only for the football community, but also for the wider United Kingdom population. < Back Controversy as Saudi Arabia Gains Entry into Top-Flight Football By Hugo Lagergren December 30, 2021 The recent takeover of Newcastle United by the Public Investment Fund (P.I.F.), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has sparked outrage across the football community due to its strong connections with the Saudi Arabian government and Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince. Football fans and human rights activists have criticized the Premier League and Newcastle United for their apparent refusal to consider Saudi Arabia’s dismal human rights record during the takeover saga. Amnesty International's United Kingdom branch has also criticized the takeover and called for the English Premier League to reshape its owners and directors test to include a larger focus on human rights issues. Amnesty UK’s CEO, Sacha Deshmukh, stated that the takeover represented “a clear attempt by the Saudi authorities to sportswash their appalling human rights record with the glamour of top-flight football.” However, Amnesty was not the only group to criticize the takeover. Fans of Crystal Palace put up a banner denouncing the Premier League for allowing the transaction. The banner depicts a man in a thawb, a traditional Arab garment which Crystal Palace fans labeled the P.I.F., wielding a large blood-stained sword. Next to him, what appears to be a Premier League official is standing in a pool of blood with bags of money at his feet, and he is holding a rainbow armband in tatters. Recently, the Premier League has cracked down both on racism and the discrimination of the LGBTQ+ community through various initiatives, including taking a knee before each game and sporting rainbow shoelaces and armbands. The majority of players take a knee before each game, with only a few exceptions. The rainbow campaign remains less prominent among players yet is still supported by most. These campaigns extend beyond just the players. Within each broadcast, the Premier League includes graphics underneath the scorecard with slogans such as “No Room For Racism.” These initiatives have highlighted the English football community’s united stance, for the most part, on these issues. They have issued strong and clear messages repeatedly denouncing any form discrimination within the sport. Despite some continued instances of discrimination, notably after the final of the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, there has been progress towards eliminating racism. Indeed, it is this progress that facilitated Australian football player Josh Cavallo to come out as gay on October 27th 2021, thus becoming the first and only openly gay player in top-flight football, and one of the only openly gay athletes in any major sports leagues across the world. Now that Saudi Arabia’s P.I.F. has been accepted into the football community, it will create the sense that the LGBTQ+ are less welcome. While it may not affect the English LGBTQ+ community directly, since Newcastle will probably continue to support the various LGBTQ+ campaigns, it makes it abundantly clear that, despite the warm words, football’s governing bodies value money over inclusivity and the protection of human rights. Football fans have rallied behind the LGBTQ+ community to criticize the Premier League for approving the deal, many citing Saudi Arabia’s continued criminalization of homosexual behavior. Indeed, Saudi Arabia continues to encourage violence and repression of the LGBTQ+, as it operates under an uncodified criminal code based on Sharia Law, which strongly prohibits any form of homosexual activity. Public floggings are a routine occurrence and many gay citizens have been imprisoned. However, Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses extend far beyond the LGBTQ+ community. Intellectuals and activists across the country are imprisoned for speaking out against Mohammed bin Salman’s regime. This includes Raid Badawi who was imprisoned in 2012 on the charge of “insulting Islam through electronic channels.” Public demonstrations by groups of people are also a criminal act. Women remain heavily repressed in practice and in law, with many laws ensuring that they remain subordinate to men. Harassment and intimidation are common practices that women in Saudi Arabia face on a regular basis. Indeed, in 2015 alone, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development reported over 8,000 cases of violent and psychological abuse. Only very recently have small steps been taken to make Saudi society more inclusive towards women, such as the extension of the right to drive. However, Saudi Arabia remains extremely patriarchal. Saudi Arabia’s ardent censorship also caused the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 for being critical of the regime, and his death sparked outrage around the world. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s top executioners, as dozens of people are put to death every year, often in the form of public beheadings. Other controversial issues include the civil war in Yemen that Saudi Arabia takes an active role in, the continued use of torture as a state-sanctioned punishment, religious discrimination against Shi’a minorities, and the banning of human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. The wife of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi expressed her shock that the Premier League approved the Newcastle deal. She also expressed her sadness in relation to the state of Newcastle United and English football in general, due to their acceptance of authoritarian regimes into the sport. Despite the controversy and widespread condemnation, Newcastle fans have celebrated the takeover, as many hope that increased investment from the P.I.F. will lift the club out of a cycle of misfortune and failure that has plagued it over the past 20 years. Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s all-time top scorer and a Newcastle legend, hailed the takeover as a “special day” for the club’s supporters. Shearer acknowledged the concerns regarding Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses, yet cited “Russians” (Chelsea), “Chinese” (Wolverhampton Wanderers) and “Abu Dhabi” (Manchester City) as a justification for Saudi Arabia’s presence in the Premier League. When asked about human rights concerns, many Newcastle fans defended their joy by citing Saudi Arabia’s investments in Twitter, Facebook and Uber, arguing that we, as a society, have not stopped using these platforms as a result, and continue to enrich Saudi Arabia by using these platforms. So, they argue, why shouldn’t Newcastle fans rejoice if it means it will bring their club more success? Rona Evain, the executive director of the Football Supporters Europe Association, argues persuasively that the ethical considerations within football are more important due to the sport’s influence on society. He considers this to be why football must place more emphasis on ethics. “The example given is that the Saudi sovereign fund has also invested in Uber and so on, but people don’t have posters of Uber cars at home. They don’t have tattoos of the logo on their skin or take their children to Uber’s AGM [Annual General Meeting].” Evain joins the wider call for stricter ownership tests to prevent similar regimes from engaging in acts of sportswashing, a term used to describe the process of countries or states using sports teams or events to improve their political image, both domestically and abroad. The failure of the Premier League to block the deal highlights how football remains an industry driven by greedy bureaucrats who are willing to sacrifice ethical issues in favor of monetary gain. Authoritarian regimes are increasingly using sportswashing to distract attention from their oppressive behavior. This includes the Chinese Olympics in 2008, the Russian World Cup in 2018 and Winter Olympics in 2014, and attention is now turning to the 2022 Qatar World Cup. This is an issue that is not going away anytime soon, and therefore, must be addressed if the footballing community is to become as inclusive and egalitarian as it pretends to be on the surface.

Sports Recap – April 2022 < Back Sports Recap: April By Hugo Lagergren April 29, 2022 Football As the season reaches its climax, the battle between Liverpool and Manchester City for domestic and European glory is showing no sign of letting up. In their second meeting of the Premier League season, the two teams played out an exhilarating 2-2 draw, in what was described by many as the game of the season. One week later, however, Liverpool overcame Pep Guardiola’s side with a dominant first half display to reach their first FA Cup final under Jurgen Klopp. This keeps its hopes of completing a historic quadruple alive. The Champions League quarter-finals saw some serious upsets, as Villareal managed to eliminate favorite Bayern Munich with a late goal from Samuel Chukwueze, setting up a semi-final against Liverpool. Karim Benzema maintained his brilliant form by eliminating the defending champions, Chelsea, with a devastating hat-trick, sending Real Madrid through. Real Madrid will play Man City, as Pep tries to win the only trophy that has eluded him during his time at City. The Europa League, UEFA’s second tier competition, also produced a number of shock results. The biggest was Eintracht Frankfurt’s defeat of Barcelona at the Camp Nou. West Ham United and Red Bull Leipzig also won their respective quarter-finals. Possibly the biggest surprise of the competition was Glasgow’s Rangers reaching the semi-finals of a European tournament. This is the first time a Scottish side has reached the last four since 2008. In the inaugural season of the Europa Conference League, Europe’s tertiary club football competition, Olympique de Marseille, has managed to reach the semi-finals, where it will play Dutch side Feyenoord. Leicester City defeated PSV to set up a semi-final against Mourinho’s struggling AS Roma. With 29 out of the 32 teams having already qualified for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, FIFA completed the draw of the group stages, classifying the 32 possible contenders into 8 groups. This decides the paths each team must take if they are to reach the World Cup final. Following a poor display of form, OGC Nice dropped out of contention for the Champions League, despite reaching the final of the French Cup. This has undoubtedly dampened the mood on the Côte D’Azur, as Nice look likely to miss out on the top-tier of European football, once again. With six games left in the season, none of which are against teams currently in the top five, Nice are looking to reverse its poor form by taking the maximum number of points possible whilst also hoping that the teams above them drop points. With only four games remaining, and just one point separating Chelsea and Arsenal, the tension is rising in the Women’s Super League, as Arsenal attempts to steal the title off Chelsea. Defending champions Chelsea, who have held the title for two years running now, will be without star striker Fran Kirby for the rest of the season. Her absence, according to Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, can be attributed to a case of “fatigue.” In the Women’s FA Cup, Chelsea beat rivals Arsenal comfortably to reach the final, where they will play Man City at Wembley. On March 22, FC Barcelona announced a four-year partnership with UNHCR. Audiences will see the UN Refugee Agency’s logo appear on the back of the Barcelona kit. Moreover, the Barcelona Foundation pledged to supply UNHCR with an annual €400,000 cash contribution and an additional annual €100,000 worth of sports equipment and technical expertise. Barcelona has a history of philanthropic partnerships with the UN – collaborating with the intergovernmental organization for unconventional kit sponsorships. Many will remember the iconic Barcelona kits with the UNICEF logo displayed on the front, which the team used from 2006 to 2010. Formula 1 Ferrari continued its dominant form by clinching a double podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix behind Max Verstappen (Leclerc 2nd, Sainz 3rd). They earned their second win of the season at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, where Leclerc stormed to his fourth career win. Max Verstappen retired with engine issues in Melbourne for the second time this season, exacerbating worries surrounding Red Bull’s reliability. Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, labelled the issue “desperately frustrating,” as Red Bull struggles to keep up with the pace of the Ferraris. However, Red Bull managed to reestablish themselves at Imola, where they achieved their first one two finish since Malaysia 2016, with Max Verstappen taking the victory. Tennis Stephan Tsitsipas beat Davidovich Fokina to win his second Monte Carlo title in a row. The Greek tennis player took victory in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, despite looking slightly tense during the tie breaker of the second set. The world number five described himself “very proud” as he won his first trophy of the season, a feat he hopes will kickstart his 2022 campaign. Golf On April 10, American golfer, Scottie Scheffler won his first green jacket by championing the 86th PGA Masters tournament, holding off late pushes from Cameron Smith and Rory McIlroy. Last year, Scheffler finished 18th and his highest finish at any previous major was fourth place. However, much of the golfing world’s attention was on Tiger Woods. Woods made a surprising return following a serious car crash in February 2021, during which he sustained several serious leg injuries. American Sports The NBA playoffs are now underway, with the Phoenix Suns as the favorite to win this year. Last year’s champions, the Milwaukee Bucks will be looking to defend their title. However, the Suns have put up a dominant display during the regular season by setting a franchise record for the most wins in a single season. The NHL approaches the Stanley Cup playoffs with many teams filling playoff spots, including the New York Rangers who have qualified for a place in the playoffs for the first time in five years. Last year’s finalist, the Montreal Canadians, have struggled and are currently bottom of the Atlantic Division, with qualification for the playoffs far out of reach.

< Back Introduction to the Cyprus Problem: History and Attempts at Solution Feidias Psaras February 28, 2025 Just this month , President Christodoulides of the Republic of Cyprus and President Tatar of the TRNC agreed to meet in May of this year under the aegis of the UN to kickstart another round of talks for the reunification of the island. Even though this marks the first attempt at political negotiations in an eight-year hiatus, it’s only the latest in a long series of attempts at reunification ranging back almost to the very inception of the Cypriot state itself. So what has created what the leaders in both communities, despite their sizeable ideological gaps, see as an opportunity for reconciliation? The answer lies at the tail end of a confusing, contested and troubled history How did we get here? The roots of the Cyprus Problem manifest around the beginning of the 20th century. In 1930, amidst a climate of rising anti-colonial political action and driven by a solidifying Greek nationalist identity promoted primarily by a highly influential Orthodox church, Cypriots under British rule demanded the unification of Cyprus. In the 1950s, Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus, later to become its first president, organized a plebiscite on the issue of unification, which received a 95.71% vote in favor with an 89% turnout . But the vote took place in Orthodox churches, so only Greek Cypriots’ voices were heard ; the Turkish Cypriots, who at the time made up about 18% of the island, did not have a say. With the budding political movement for the unification of Greece (Enosis) being met with a moot by the colonial government, the Greek Cypriots eventually took up arms. In 1955, with the help of a Greek military officer Grivas, the Greek Organization of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) was formed . As discerned from key documents, the Turkish Cypriots were not expressly targeted; the objective was to shake the colonial rulers and dismantle their police force regardless of who was serving. Continued pressures from Cyprus’s religious-political echelon and EOKA, as well as changes in the geopolitical climate—a series of bloody decolonizing wars that stretched the ailing Empires even thinner, the loss of the Suez Canal which signified their waning influence in the Middle East especially— culminated in a compromise agreements between Turkish and Greek representatives in Zurich. The result was not what the EOKA fighters had wanted; in 190, Cypru had officially become an independent state, not a part of Greece. Since then, Cypriots were thrust into a political project that few of them or their leaders had the will or wherewithal to carry out, and the Republic of Cyprus, a nation-state built around a constitutionally mandated bi-communal executive and representative parliamentary quotas, sputtered forward. Very early on, the divergent interests of the Turkish and Greek Cypriots sent the government into a paroxysm, and frustration brewed at what was increasingly seen by both sides as an untenable political arrangement. In 1963, when Makarios III proposed a set of constitutional reforms purportedly to break the governmental deadlock but which weakened the role of Turkish Cypriots in government, intercommunal violence broke out in Nicosia and spread to the whole of Cyprus. Attacks against Turkish Cypriots escalated—the violence in Kokkina provides a standout example—and the enclaves that formed around Kokkina and Lefke marked the end of Turkish Cypriot participation in the government of the Republic of Cyprus as well as the first steps toward self-determination. And yet the violence continued, and violence in Kophinou and Ayios Theodoros only served to heighten the political divides. In 1971, the initial goal of Enosis was revived under EOKA B, but this time with an important operational shift. In the absence of colonial rule, the governing authority that needed to be dismantled would have to be Makarios III’s democratically elected one. And, this time, the Turkish Cypriots were a target too. Cyprus had gained its independence in 1960 under a guarantor agreement signed by Britain, Greece and Turkey—which, among other things, allowed those countries to intervene militarily if the safety of any ethnic group was in danger. So when EOKA B, backed by Grivas and the main political figure, Sampson, staged a coup and forced the democratically elected president out of Cyprus…. Soon after, Turkish troops entered the island and took control of around 36% of it. The decision to enter Cyprus was condemned internationally as an invasion because, instead of leaving after peace was restored, the Turkish army reinforced the politically independent enclaves until, in 1983, when the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declared independence. And thus, not long after it had taken off, the Cypriot national project came crashing down. How we’ve dealt with it Ever since then, finding a solution to the ‘Cyprus problem’ has been the central issue in Cypriot politics. Talks have revolved around the establishment of a unitary Republic of Cyprus revolving around five major points : two self-governing states ( bizonality ) that are inclusive to both Greek and Turkish-Cypriots (bicommunality); political equality between these two major ethnic communities; creating a central federal government with an international personality and single citizenship for its citizens. To achieve this, the Greek and Turkish-Cypriot political leaders—since Makarios and Denktaș—have engaged in a tug-of-war. The closest the two sides have come to a solution was just after the turn of the century, under UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a strong proponent of the European Union (EU) and pursuant of accession talks . Then-President Glafcos Clerides faced strong pressures from the bloc, which demanded an agreed-upon plan for the unification of Cyprus as a necessary prerequisite for membership. After two years of negotiations and five drafts, an agreed-upon Annan Plan was sent out to both the Greek and Turkish Cypriots to vote on in separate referenda. While the Turkish-Cypriot vote amounted to 65% for the plan, a 76% vote against the plan by the Greek Cypriots marked the end of talks for reunification, at least for a time. This was until 2015, when political forces on both sides started to gain new traction toward a solution. The victory of Mustafa Akinci in the North brought to power a Turkish Cypriot politician known for his conciliatory stance, opposite Nikos Anastasiades in the Republic of Cyprus, who had publicly stated that he would like to undertake processes for unification. The two leaders began frequent correspondence, building on past frameworks and making significant progress on foreign policy issues and EU-related matters. Despite occasional setbacks, talks developed until the final conference attended with representatives from all three guarantor powers—Greece, the UK, Türkiye—in Crans Montana, where the final agreement would be made. However, after a dramatic UN-led session, the talks collapsed . Akinci lost all his political capital while Anastasiades emerged relatively unscathed, and Türkiye distanced itself from support of any reunification process. The election of Ersin Tatar, a right-wing separatist, following Akinci, showcased the Turkish Cypriots’ diminishing political will for unification. Some say that the situation bodes less well for the Greek Cypriots, who have grown complacent with the status quo of a divided island. Post 2017: how do we proceed? Since the failure in Crans Montana, the election of a new president, Nikos Christodoulides, has brought renewed efforts for a solution. But there are many that doubt that this president, like his predecessor, has any real intention of changing the current status quo. Still, Christodoulides has met with both President Erdogan and Tatar, and is speaking of beginning talks in the first quarter of 2025. Whether these will be successful remains to be seen. Photo credits: DJ Mapping on Wikimedia Commons

< Back Cocteau’s Azur: Exploring Queerness in Menton Ema Nevřelová At first glance, Menton appears to be a quaint and peaceful town on the French Riviera—a place of leisure, history, and, of course, lemons. But is Menton truly as fruity as it seems? To uncover the realities of queer life in this picturesque coastal town, I conducted a brief survey among fellow Sciences Pistes. Their an swers reflected diverse and sometimes conflicting experiences. My first question centered on safety—something that is a recurring concern in Menton. Anyone who reads the Sciences Po group chat knows that it sometimes turns into a site of distressing stories recounting harassment and scary encounters with strangers. Still, the queer students who responded saw safety through different lenses. One noted, “Yes, it’s pretty quiet,” while another pointed out, “There’s a bunch of rightist guys who tend to be very homophobic. But you see allies hanging out with them, which makes me question people’s moral and ethical integrity.” This may sound familiar to anyone who has spent time in certain social circles at Sciences Po. While most students are openly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community—or part of it themselves—there are still spaces where discriminatory comments are not called out. And it’s not just about the students. Nearly a third of Menton’s population is over the age of 65, and some of those residents are not fond of Sciences Po students, in general and queer people in particular, causing a sense of alienation for some queer students beyond the campus. Despite this, most survey respondents agreed that Menton and Sciences Po provide spaces where they feel free to express themselves. Still, Menton offers little in terms of queer visibility or cultural representation. Perhaps the only formal nod to LGBTQ+ identity in the town is the Jean Cocteau Museum. Cocteau—a French poet, filmmaker, and artist—left behind a legacy shaped by Orientalism, surrealism and queerness, evident in his love letters to actor Jean Marais. In a letter from 1939, Cocteau wrote : “ My Jeannot, adore me as I adore you and console me. Press me to your heart. Help me to be a saint, to be worthy of you and of myself. I live only through you. ” But even this representation is complicated. Cocteau’s relationship with Marais, marked by a 24-year age gap, seems disproportionate in terms of power and manipulative, to say the least. Not to mention that the museum does not particularly embrace Cocteau’s sexuality. For example, on the website of the Museum Jean Marais, Cocteau’s lover, is mentioned several times in Cocteau’s biography, but the romantic relationship between the two is essentially omitted. On the contrary, it displays drawings of fetishized females turned into “mythical” creatures, making the entrance fee feel like a contribution to modern orientalism rather than to queer representation. With enough determination, one might stumble upon two paintings by British artist Francis Bacon in the Gallery of Palais de l’Europe. Like Cocteau, Bacon lived a frivolous and hazardous life, but what they both have in common is their romantic interest in younger men. My second survey question focused on dating and relationships. Responses varied: one student mentioned being in a relationship with another Sciences Po student, while another wasn’t seeking a connection. Interestingly, one respondent described the gay community on campus as “mean,” also noting that some students engaged in “outing” others—speaking publicly about someone’s sexuality without their consent. Conversations about who is or is not queer are not uncommon on campus, even though sexuality is a deeply personal matter. The environment at Sciences Po can foster an unhealthy curiosity, reinforcing a link between gendered stereotypes and sexual identity. It’s one thing to be curious or to hope for connection; it’s another to pressure people to “confess” or treat queerness as a fuel for gossip. The reality for queer Sciences Pistes becomes even more intricate as some students’ cultural background and family pressure create significant internal conflict. Some come from countries where homosexuality is criminalized or where queer people lack certain rights. Others are dealing with trauma from homophobic upbringings. Even in a relatively open environment like Sciences Po, those emotional scars can prevent students from exploring or embracing their identities. Queerness in Menton is undeniably present, even if it sometimes feels silent or silenced. While some are desperate to find even the smallest traces of representation in this fruity town, the right approach isn’t to squeeze people’s sexuality out of them. Instead, we should work toward building spaces that feel safe not only for queer individuals, but for all marginalized communities—and remain committed to calling out homophobia when we see it. Real inclusion isn’t just about visibility; it’s about cultivating empathy, respect and genuine solidarity. Ultimately, Menton’s beauty isn’t just in its scenery—it’s in the values we choose to embody and the community we create. Photo source: Ted Eytan on Flickr Previous Next

< Back L’Europe sous Trump: qu’adviendra t-il de l’Ukraine? Anna Halpern December 31, 2024 « Vous devez comprendre que si l’Europe est attaquée, nous ne viendrons jamais vous aider et vous soutenir » : voici les mots de Donald Trump à Ursula von der Leyen en 2020, selon Thierry Breton. Nombre d’entre nous en Europe se sont réveillés le 6 novembre en nous demandant ce que nous réserve le futur, et comment faire face à un nouveau mandat de Trump, dont la perspective se dessinait de plus en plus clairement. Cela faisait déjà des mois que l’Europe se préparait à cette possibilité sans pour autant avoir une solution unanime. La question phare: qu'adviendra-t-il de l'Ukraine si Trump redevient président, et comment la communauté européenne peut-elle se dissocier des Etats-Unis sur le plan sécuritaire? Quelle est donc cette nouvelle position États-Unienne sur la guerre en Ukraine qui fait trembler l’Europe? Donald Trump a fait de la fin de la guerre en Ukraine, et surtout de son financement en grande partie par Washington, l’un des points clés de son programme électoral. Il s’est fait le porte drapeau d’un non-interventionnisme , d’une réduction de l'armée et d’un ‘chacun pour soi’ ou il envisage la défense des alliés des Etats-Unis—notamment l’Europe et Taiwan —comme un service rendu qu’ils devraient payer. Sous ses promesses de pousser pour un cessez le feu immédiat et de « mettre fin à la guerre en Ukraine en vingt-quatre heures , » les observateurs sont nombreux à craindre une menace de retrait de l’aide américaine pour tordre le bras de Zelensky et le pousser à négocier une fin potentiellement désavantageuse à la guerre. En préparation d’une politique américaine bien moins avantageuse, les vingt-sept essaient de se recentrer sur des solutions européennes. En effet, pas plus tard que ce jeudi douze décembre, le Président français et le Premier ministre polonais ont discuté de l’option poussée par Emmanuel Macron d’envoyer des troupes en Ukraine. Cette option serait indépendante de l’OTAN et de l’UE, mais impliquerait une base « bilatérale. » Ce n’est pas la première fois que le Président français envisage l’envoie de troupes au sol. En effet, cela avait été abordé en février, ou il avait parlé d’une « ambiguïté stratégique » en n'écartant aucune option militaire. Néanmoins, cette idée ne fait pas consensus, que se soit l’Allemagne en février ou la Pologne plus récemment, nombreux sont les pays qui ne seraient pas « considérés comme disposés à envoyer éventuellement des troupes. » Ce manque de consensus se reflète aussi au niveau de l’ambition de restructuration de la politique et des capacités défensives de l'Europe. L’Union européenne n’a pas d'armée commune, mais possède une politique de sécurité et de défense commune ou PSDC et un Fond Européen de défense ou FED . Bien qu’une ‘boussole stratégique’ commune ait été établie pour clarifier les objectifs sécuritaires européens, les divergences sur le degré d'intégration militaire auquel l’UE devrait aspirer sont largement visibles. D’une part, le nouvel air Trump ainsi que la guerre en Ukraine indiquent un besoin d'autonomisation de l’Europe en matière sécuritaire. D’autre part, la mise en place de cette autonomisation et du soutien à l’Ukraine fait division. En premier plan, les divergences intra-européennes sur le sujet de l’emprunt commun et de l’achat de munitions plutôt que des dépenses à des fins civiles, soulignent un manque de coordination et d’alignement stratégique au sein de l’Union. Une question qui ressort souvent dans ces divisions, est la problématique d’une armée européenne. Cette idée historiquement soutenue par l’Allemagne et la France et largement opposée au sein des pays de l’Europe de l’est a été remise sur le plateau depuis le début de la guerre en Ukraine. En effet, les pays européens qui pour beaucoup sont au sein de l’OTAN et ne remplissent pas leur quota de 2% du budget pour l'armée, se sont retrouvés en besoin d’un grand changement et d’une remilitarisation face à un retour inattendu de la guerre sur leur continent. Bien que ce ne soit pas la première fois que cette notion d’ « Europe de la défense » apparaisse, est-ce que cette fois les européens réussiront à faire front commun? Les suggestions sur les dépenses communes, pour donner plus de cohérence à leurs armées, la notion de promouvoir des achats d’armement d’industriels européens et l'établissement d’objectifs communs semblent des signes prometteurs. Mais on est encore bien loin de la notion d’une armée commune car les divisions de culture militaire entre les pays sont encore trop fortes, et les objectifs politiques trop divergents. Ces divisions intra-européenne s'imposent donc comme une grave difficulté en essayant d'imaginer l'Europe sous Trump. En effet, il est clair qu’aucun consensus n’existe encore pour y répondre. Entre les pays les plus fortement défenseurs de l’Ukraine qui envisagent l’envoie de troupes sur le terrain, et ceux qui commencent à se demander si tous les efforts européens pour l'Ukraine sont bien raisonnables face à des troubles économiques et politiques grandissants, il est dors et déjà possible de dire que les rêves de fédération de certains pro-européens est loin d'être une réalité à ce jour. Néanmoins, il est tout de même important de souligner que l’Europe a réussi à se coordonner. Elle a envoyé une aide non négligeable, et à vu une augmentation de l’investissement militaire à travers un grand nombre de ses membres. Cette adaptation révèle sa capacité à faire face qui pourrait lui permettre de se placer dans le top des puissances militaires dans le futur.

Sports Recap – October 2022 < Back October Sports Recap By Arian Akrami October 31, 2022 Formula 1 Max Verstappen was officially crowned 2021 Formula 1 World Champion following the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday Oct. 9. He became only the 11th driver to win back-to-back championships. With 12 victories already secured, and four races left, it remains entirely possible that the Dutchman could break the record for the most wins in a season (13 – Michael Schumacher with Ferrari in 2004, Sebastian Vettel with Red Bull in 2013). However, Red Bull has come under a barrage of criticism following statements that the team had exceeded the budget caps which were introduced at the beginning of the 2021 season. A Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) statement announced that the team exceeded the $145 million budget cap by less than 5%, which constitutes a “minor” level breach. This level has come under criticism since it could still constitute a significant value of approximately seven million dollars. Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said: “five million dollars is about half a second, one to two million dollars is 0.1-0.2 seconds, which can be the difference between second on the grid to pole.” Potential repercussions include a deduction of championship points, financial reprimands and a reduction on the team’s budget cap. Tennis On Sunday Oct. 9, Novak Djokovic, recently championed at Wimbledon, defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-3, 6-4) to clinch his 90th Association of Tennis Professionals title at the Astana Open in Kazakhstan. United States Open victor and world number one Carlos Alcaraz faced a major upset following defeat in the opening round Belgium’s David Goffin. Elsewhere on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour, Taylor Fritz beat the United States Open runner up Francis Tiafoe (7-6, 7-6) in an all-American final at the Japan Open. This has allowed him to enter the world top 10 for the first time. Fritz was able to progress to the semifinals with a walkover due to the injury of Wimbledon finalist, Nick Kyrgios. On the Women's Tennis Association tour, the Polish world number one, Iga Swiatek, was stunned at the Ostrava Open final in the Czech Republic. She was defeated by Barbora Krejcikova, who managed to clinch her second successive Women's Tennis Association title on home soil (5-7, 7-6, 6-3). Football In the Premier League, as Arsenal continued their fine form, beating Leeds United away from home to remain top of the league, out-of-form Liverpool managed to defeat reigning champions and currently second place Manchester City, courtesy of a goal from Mohammed Salah. Manchester United Women thrashed Brighton and Hove Albion 4-0 to remain top of the Women’s Super League, level on nine points with Arsenal and Chelsea, who beat Everton and Reading, respectively. Manchester City picked up their first points of the season with another 4-0 scoreline against Leicester City, who remain rock bottom with zero points, alongside Reading. In Ligue 1, Neymar extended his excellent goal-scoring record so far this season in a crucial 1-0 victory for Paris Saint-Germain in the Classico against Olympique Marseille. The club now sit top of the table with a three-point lead over second place FC Lorient, who fell to a draw at home to Reims despite a 45th minute red card for their opponents. On the international front, Denmark’s kit manufacturer, Hummel, have hidden their logo, and Denmark’s emblem, on their World Cup apparel as a way to voice their disassociation with the Qatar tournament which has been criticized for its abhorrent treatment of migrant workers . Although their national colours are red and white, they have decided to release an all-back third kit, which Hummel described as “the color of mourning,” in solidarity with the thousands of lives lost during the construction of the stadiums.

< Back A Guide to Menton’s Places of Religious Worship Stanimir Stoyanov While relatively small in size, our beautiful town of Menton has a significant number of various religious sites. We all know about the picturesque basilica in the old town and we all hear the church bells ringing throughout the day. Have you ever wondered why those bells ring at specific times? What about other religious denominations? This article will look into the world of religion within Menton, providing answers to these questions and adding interesting information about its religious sites. Religion is a multifaceted topic and this article does not have any purpose of discussing different religious practices; its goal is to simply showcase information on different places in Menton affiliating themselves as religious. In France, secularism is a constitutional principle and the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State ensures the freedom of conscience and guarantees the free exercise of religion. While the majority of the population doesn’t identify as religious, the most prevalent religious affiliation in France is Catholic, with a sizable population of people following religions such as Islam, Judaism and others. Our town of Menton also reflects this diversity to an extent and, despite its small size, has a total of ten places of religious worship. These include seven Catholic churches and chapels, an Orthodox church, an Anglican church, a Mosque and a Synagogue. So, what is there to know about them? Basilica of Saint-Michel-Archange Probably Menton’s most famous attraction, the basilica was constructed between 1619 and 1819. At the time, Menton was part of the Principality of Monaco and Prince Honoré II commissioned it in order to affirm the role of the Catholic faith at the time of the Reformation in Europe. The basilica’s baroque architecture was heavily influenced by the Genoese style and is exceptional in its detailed and intricate facade and interior. The church bell, locally known as the “Campanin” was erected in 1701 to serve both a religious and functional purpose, acting as a watchtower over Menton. Until Dec. 31, the basilica is open to the public from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. everyday except Sunday, when it is accessible only for mass at 11 p.m. It is located on Place de l’Eglise in the old town, admission is free and when visiting you even have the possibility to climb up the tower for a one of a kind view over Menton. The Mosquée Taqwa in Menton Located on 113 Avenue de Sospel, Menton’s Mosque offers the Muslim population of Menton a place of worship. It is open five times a day for the different prayers throughout the day, with opening times varying each day according to the changing times of prayer. Even small in size, the mosque has separate praying spaces for men and women. It is associated with the Association Culturelle Mentonnaise and also engages in cultural events and community activities, such as offering guided tours for Europe’s Heritage days on Sep. 21 and Sep. 22. Synagogue de Menton “Centre Altyner” This synagogue, found on 106 Cours du Centenaire, was founded in 1964 by Holocaust survivors who discovered that there was quite a significant Jewish population in Menton. In 1987 they decided to construct this synagogue with the help of donors, whose names are inscribed on a marble plaque in front of the synagogue. One of these names, interestingly, is that of the renown fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who lived nearby at the time and was moved to donate by a friend of his. The synagogue offers regular Shabbat services and observes Jewish holidays, its open hours are Friday, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. and at 5 p.m. and on Sunday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. The synagogue also facilitates cultural events and celebrations, organizing events for the local Jewish community. The Orthodox Church “Our Lady's Church, Joy for the Afflicted and Saint Nicholas the Miracle Maker” This church is located on 12 Rue Paul Morillot and serves as a place of prayer for Christians following the Orthodox denomination. It is operated by the Russian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate and its history spans from 1884 when a Russian duchess found its establishment important, recognizing the expanding Russian presence in the region. Originally, it was housed in a small chapel that can still be found at the old castle cemetery on Mnt du Souvenir. In 1892, the current church was built in an unconventional architectural style blending Eastern and Western designs. During WWII, the church was damaged from bombings and, in 1958, it was renovated. It is frequented by the surprisingly large Orthodox population of Menton and the region as both a place for prayer and cultural exchange. It is still worth a visit by anyone interested due to its unique appearance in contrast with the local architecture. Unfortunately its working hours are not clearly set and vary each month with the specific times for mass being posted at the entrance of the church’s garden. The Saint John's Anglican Church Found on 31 Avenue Carnot, this is the neo-Gothic church that you see when walking near the city center. Established in 1867 to service the growing British community in Menton, this church nowadays serves the Anglican population of the town. It regularly holds Sunday service in English starting at 10:30 a.m. The church also houses the St John's English Library, offering around 4,500 books, open to the public on Wednesday afternoons from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It is also equipped with a pipe organ, used during services and concerts, enhancing the musical experience for congregants and visitors. It is part of the Diocese in Europe, often collaborating with other local churches and organisations for events and celebrations. Its fascinating blend of Gothic elements and Italian influence makes it a unique site worth paying a visit to. Other Catholic churches and chapels Menton also houses another three Catholic churches and three smaller Catholic chapels, more notably the Église Saint-Joseph, Église du Sacré-Cœur, Église Notre-Dame du Borrigo, Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs, Chapelle des Pénitents Noirs, Chapelle Saint-Roch . While the listed chapels do not have working hours and are rarely open to the public, the two churches are often open during mass hours and can be accessed for visits if you have the interest. As we can see, even our quaint Menton has a vast list of places of religious worship and hopefully now you are a bit more familiar with them. If this article has sprung your interest you can feel free to visit and enjoy them so long as you remain respectful to the people who may be practicing their religion there. They all have their unique architectural characteristics and religious significance. As a person who has had the fortune of visiting all of them, I truly recommend the aforementioned places if you want to experience Menton in all its character. Previous Next

Those interested in joining the Menton Times staff must be current Sciences Po Menton students. Staff applications for the 2026-2027 academic year open on September 4, 2026 and close on September 11, 2026. We accept guest writers from the Menton campus, greater Sciences Po network, and alumni pool. Interested guest writers can reach out to Editors in Chief, Eloïse Franzmann and Rose Harrill, or Managing Editor, Elsa Uzan, with an article pitch. eloise.franzmann@sciencespo.fr rose.harrill@sciencespo.fr elsa.uzan@sciencespo.fr Have a pitch or idea? First name* Last name Sciences Po Email* Whatsapp Number Write your idea Submit

< Back What Happened to Freedom of Speech? Rose Harrill October 31, 2025 On Sep. 10, Charlie Kirk, a prominent right-wing political podcaster and media personality, was shot and killed at Utah Valley University during an outdoor debate with students. Kirk would often travel from university to university, challenging college students to “ prove him wrong ” in a debate, and was assassinated during one of these gatherings. Kirk’s murder came as a shock to many across the United States, sparking a wide range of reactions. Fellow right-wing activists and conservative politicians publicly grieved the loss of their friend and colleague, while left-wing politicians openly condemned the act of political violence, reiterating the need for gun reform in America. Online, however, the general reaction was much less mournful. People flocked online to criticize politicians for “martyring” Kirk, who spouted many racist, sexist and discriminatory views throughout his career. Many questioned whether this was a man who deserved to be honored. One of the foundational principles of the United States, outlined in the First Amendment of the Constitution, is freedom of speech. There are certain forms of speech that are unprotected by the First Amendment, such as obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement of violence, fighting words, true violence or speech integral to criminal conduct. At the same time, all political and ideological statements are protected by the Constitution. Kirk himself was a big advocate for freedom of speech, often using this concept to defend his most controversial statements, writing on X that even “ugly,” “gross” and “evil” speech is protected and allowed under the law. However, the current Trump administration has begun to completely disregard this fundamental right of Americans, encouraging crackdowns on anyone who has been critical of Kirk following his assassination. In the days after Kirk’s death, President Donald Trump and his closest advisors threatened to utilize the extensive power of the federal government to uncover and penalize an alleged “left-wing network” that is funding and inciting violence towards conservatives, including the coordination of Kirk’s assassination. President Trump provided no evidence that could prove the existence of such a network, seemingly utilizing the death of Charlie Kirk as an excuse to go after any criticism from his political opponents. At least 145 people have been identified to have faced disciplinary actions in the workplace over the last few weeks for statements they have made or posted about Kirk in the aftermath of his murder, whether it be teachers, restaurant workers or lawyers. The U.S. government has encouraged this restriction of free speech, as Vice President JD Vance encouraged his supporters to call the bosses of those who had celebrated Kirk’s death and ensure they are disciplined. “Call them out,” he said , “and hell, call their employer.” The U.S. government has also revoked the visas of at least six foreign nationals on the grounds of celebrating Kirk’s death. On Oct. 13 the U.S. State Department posted screenshots of online comments by six people on its X account, writing “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death of Americans” and that they would continue to “identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk”, implying they would continue to try and deport anyone critical of Kirk. The crackdown garnering the most attention from the general public has been the removal of Jimmy Kimmel’s late night ABC Network show from the air. On the episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! that aired after Kirk’s assassination, Kimmel referred to the shooting’s suspect as a member of the right and mocked President Trump’s reaction to the shooting. Brendan Carr, the chair of broadcast regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), appointed to this position by President Trump, demanded an apology from Kimmel for his remarks, threatening to act against ABC and its parent company Disney if Kimmel did not comply. Subsequently, Nexstar Media, one of the most prominent owners of TV stations in the United States, confirmed it would pull Kimmel’s show from the air indefinitely. Kimmel’s show was ultimately put back on air only a couple of days later. However, this was entirely due to the massive pushback from viewers, politicians and other members of Hollywood who claimed it was an act of political censorship. The U.S.government made no effort to condemn the clear violation of free speech by the FCC. In fact, President Trump celebrated Kimmel’s suspension, calling it “great news for America.” While these crackdowns of free speech have definitely worsened in the wake of Kirk’s assassination, this exhibits a wider trend of suppression and constitutional violations that have been perpetuated by the Trump administration since his inauguration. Jimmy Kimmel was not the first news host to be pulled from the air due to unfavorable speech in the eyes of the Trump administration – CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was cancelled back in July. This cancellation came just three days after Colbert criticized CBS’s parent company Paramount for its $16 million settlement with President Trump for its similarities with bribery. Colbert’s show has not been reinstated. In March, Columbia University was under scrutiny with free speech advocates for their creation of a disciplinary committee dedicated to investigating students who are critical of Israel. Despite the right to criticize Israel often being as a political statement, thus protected by the First Amendment. President Trump and his administration, instead of penalizing Columbia University for the flagrant violation of freedom of speech, cancelled $400 million in federal funding to the institution on the grounds that they had not done enough to protect its students from “antisemitic harassment.” President Trump and his administration continued by issuing a letter containing a list of demands for Columbia University to comply with that would further limit anti-Israeli speech. Columbia University responded with an even more extreme crackdown on students’ free speech by expelling, suspending and temporarily revoking the degrees of dozens of students involved in pro-Palestinian protests the previous school year. All this leads us to the question: what has happened to freedom of speech in the United States? The First Amendment of the Constitution reflects the quintessential ideals of being an American —freedom to say what you want, do what you want, and be who you want. And yet now, what used to be considered a fundamental liberty for all Americans is being infringed upon daily. Uncertainty in what used to be an undeniable fact of life raises many concerns. If not all speech is protected any more, who decides which kind is unprotected? If someone can’t even express their disagreement with a political figure following their assassination, where do we draw the line? Can anyone say anything anymore? Photo Source: Newton graffiti, flickr

< Back Sea, Sun and Surveillance: Menton’s Fete du Citron Introduces New Security Measures By Catarina Vita March 30, 2024 From the beginning to late February, the Cote D’Azur — more specifically the city of Menton — transforms from an abandoned summer paradise into an epicenter of tourism. Businesses of every kind come to life with Menton’s Fete du Citron, better known as the Lemon Festival. The city of Menton, currently harboring one of the most significant migrant crises globally, gathers tourists from all over the world around the city’s humble 14.05 kilometers squared area to admire statues made almost entirely out of lemons at the Jardins Biovès, delve into the orchid exposition right across the street in the Palais d’Europe, and walk straight and up the stairs to visit the iconic Basilique de Saint Michel Archange. Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons, however, hold the true gist of the Lemon Festival: the parades. Including everything from cheerleaders to a Trojan Horse, everyone gathers around Avenue Felix Faure to celebrate the parades, rain or sunshine. This year’s theme was the Paris Olympics, and all statues revolved around that, with Olympic swimmers and wrestlers welcoming tourists that arrive from the train station into Menton. According to France3 , Menton was expected to receive 30,000 people for the festival, doubling the city’s population. Similarly to the Olympics itself, the Menton government reinforced security measures during the period of the Lemon Festival. Yearly, the government installs smaller lemon-made sculptures around the city, which usually find themselves empty after a few days of their installation. With the large influx of people in a small city, pickpockets surge. This year, the Menton government aimed to reinforce its security and surveillance measures, both through manpower and security cameras. France3 reported that 150 national police officers were dedicated to the event, as well as 50 municipal police officers. Surveillance cameras were placed in various locations of the city, especially in the lemon-made statues around the Old Town. Near the Basilique, where such a statue was placed, a big, red sign with white letters contrasted the yellow of the lemons: cette zone est surveillée. Another technology-based effort recently implemented is drone surveillance, also reaffirmed by France3. To access the traditional festival parades, an intricate security check is mandatory. The new metal-detecting device Evolv , similar to ones in airports and museums, was implemented for the attendees of the parade. The official Menton Préfecture website recommended arriving two hours before the parade due to intricate security checks, including bag search. In an interview for BFM Cote d’Azur , Aurélien Froger, a police officer placed in Menton for the Lemon Festival, recounts the dangers posed during this period, specifically during the parades. He describes two main ones, those caused by crowds and those caused by individuals. The crowds, according to Froger, can cause panic and instability, while the officer was concerned about knife violence with regard to the security threats posed by individuals. “When there is a crowd, there is always a concern,” says Froger. Another police officer described that the security team examined the parade areas before people arrived to ensure that “nothing dangerous” was placed on these premises. The collective local and national efforts for the Lemon Festival’s success reveal the importance of this period on a macro and micro scale. Evidently, the festival turns the lemons of the Mentonese economy during the winter season into lemonade, reviving chain hotels and small businesses. A small carelessness on the part of security during the festival could cause its collapse and with it, the collapse of Menton and the Cote d’Azur during winter. Thankfully for businesses and tourism, the 2024 edition of the Fete du Citron, also being the 90th edition of the festival, had surprising numbers. The Menton Préfecture website recorded almost 100,000 spectators to all four parades, 74,000 people in the orchid exposition at Palais d’Europe, and over a million accessors to the official Fete du Citron website. One of the smallest cities in the Cote d’Azur suddenly becomes overcrowded in February, which could lead to a security catastrophe. With security efforts like the ones imposed in this year’s edition of the Lemon Festival, a catastrophe like that could be considered successfully prevented from the lack of reports of serious security threats. Nonetheless, the enjoyment of the Fete du Citron also relies on the integrity of the police force and no police violence, which is not in place in the current migration crisis scenario in the Cote d’Azur. While tourists from all over the world are being protected by the police, for migrants at the Franco-Italian border, French law enforcement can come to threaten their life. Police brutality against migrants are rampant, besides neglect on proper reception and human rights.For years to come, security efforts would best be combined with actions to lower police brutality, at the Italian border and Mentonese streets, so that the city and the festival can be properly appreciated.

< Back The Political Assassination of Marielle Franco By Pedro Meerbaum April 30, 2024 On March 14, 2018, after leaving a meeting in the center of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, city councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver were brutally shot by 13 bullets. The following day, the head of Rio's civil police, Rivaldo Barbosa, visited the family of the victim. He promised them the investigation would be their priority and calmed the distressed family with hopes of justice. Six years later, Barbosa was arrested under the suspicion of being one of the three individuals behind Marielle's murder. Marielle Franco was a prominent name in the political scene of Rio. A left-wing politician raised in a favela (a specific type of Brazilian slums) and acting as one of the few black queer politicians; her image was antagonistic to the waves of conservatism that would elect Bolsonaro a few months after her assassination. She was an active advocate for human rights, with a particular focus on the work of militias in Rio and their violent administration over the city's periphery. Before her assassination, Marielle had been working towards stopping the illegal seizing of land in Rio's west side for speculation and para-governmental authority over the neighborhood. The investigations were carried out for years, hitting the Brazilian headlines often with small findings, questionable plea bargains, and occasionally essential advancements to the case. It was only in March 2019 that two former police officers were arrested and convicted of being the hitmen. It was still not clear, however, who had been behind this operation. For the years that followed, a question lingered that tainted Bolsonaro's administration: Who ordered the killing of Marielle? The question was present not only in official government discussions and protests but also in art and graffiti throughout all the main streets of Brazilian cities. The image of Marielle became a figure of opposition to Bolsonaro's government and an overt depiction of how militias in Rio had obtained a monopoly over crucial administrative features. In 2020, impeached governor Wilson Witzel admitted to having intervened in the investigation of Marielle's death. Moreover, the recent arrest of Rivaldo Barbosa, chief of Rio's civil police in 2018, rejects the idea once put forward by Brazilian media outlets that her assassination was a perfect crime – rather, it exposes to the public that it was an investigation pampered with corruption at all times. Alongside Barbosa, brothers Chiquinho and Domingos Brazão were also convicted of ordering the assassination of Marielle. The Brazão family is an established political family in Rio, receiving most of its support from voters in the highly-populated west side of the city. According to investigations, Barbosa, in a scheme with the brothers, would have promised immunity to the architects of the crime. The same investigations have also pointed to a robust relationship between the family and the illegal subdivision of land in the area. The Minister of Justice Ricardo Lewandowski recently stated, "She was opposed precisely to this group that, in the Rio City Council, wanted to regularize land to use it for commercial purposes, while the councilwoman's group wanted to use this land for social purposes, popular housing purposes." Albeit the confinement of the masterminds of the crime, justice seems far from being reached. Recently, Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, was present at a candidacy pre-launching event for a member of the Brazão family. Governors and politicians have praised and upheld the same militia political families that have long brought havoc to Rio's periphery. According to an investigation by Insight Crime , one of Rio's most prominent militias, Escritório do Crime, is composed mainly of former and serving police officers. So, it does not come as a surprise that this precise militia was involved in the murder of Marielle, nor that the bullet used in her assassination had been registered under federal property to the military police. Attempts to tackle the militia question in Rio have been beyond unsuccessful. Paramilitias are now long established in governmental institutions and have acted as a quasi-governmental force in Rio's periphery for decades. The political assassination of Marielle does not exist in a vacuum; it stands alongside numerous other victims of violence and repression. Past efforts to combat the issue have been just as tragic – Temer's militarization of Rio in 2018 cultivated an environment of violence that led to Marielle's assassination, and direct military operations in slums have caused an outrageous number of civil casualties (namely the Jacerizinho slaughter of 2021 ). While dealing with the issue of militias in Rio seems inconceivable, it is nonetheless necessary. Political voices like Marielle are crucial in confronting the presence of militia groups in governmental institutions and serving as representatives to those who have fallen victim to the mundane violence present in Rio's most impoverished neighborhoods. In the words of Marielle herself "How many more will have to die for this war against the poor to be over?" P hoto by Mídia Ninja/Flickr Creative Commons License.

Ultras, celebrations, anthems, hatred and violence are often associated with football. Coming from a country where the derby between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos brings out some of the best ultras in the world, I came to discover what happens in my new country of residence, France. < Back Eternal Enemies: PSG vs Olympique de Marseille Eleni Dimitropoulou October 31, 2024 Ultras, celebrations, anthems, hatred and violence are often associated with football. Coming from a country where the derby between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos brings out some of the best ultras in the world, I came to discover what happens in my new country of residence, France. These often involve clubs that consistently contend for titles, as well as neighboring teams—a key aspect of what defines a derby. It’s more likely that Steaua Bucharest will reclaim the European championship, Morecambe will win the Premier League, or Nafplio will become the capital of Greece again than the likelihood ofParis Saint-Germain (PSG) and Marseille ever reconciling. Their rivalry is deeply rooted in historical, cultural, social and class differences—opposing ways of life and entrenched perceptions. From a purely sporting perspective, Paris and Marseille don't share much history before 1970, when PSG was founded. Until then, Marseille primarily competed with teams like St. Etienne and Bordeaux for the French title, boasting dominance in Ligue 1. However, over the decades, the dynamics changed. Olympique de Marseille (OM), founded in 1899, is one of the few clubs that played in Ligue 1 when it was formed in 1932 and continues to compete there today. After a tumultuous period in the 1960s, marked by stints in Ligue 2, the arrival of Bernard Tapie revitalized the club, leading to back-to-back championships. Since then, OM’s performances have fluctuated, and despite frequently being at the top, the club has faced challenges maintaining its position. Notably, OM is the only French club to have won the UEFA Champions League, in 1993. Additionally, it has won the Coupe de France ten times and claimed the Ligue 1 title nine times. PSG, meanwhile, burst onto the scene in 1986, shaking up French football by winning Ligue 1 for the first time. Until that point, Marseille had been the pride of the Mediterranean, outshining the Parisians in the football world. PSG’s rise dealt a significant blow to Marseille's pride and triggered the beginnings of an intense rivalry. While the rivalry only officially dates back to 1991, it is more about what the clubs represent . Marseille is a Mediterranean city, open and full of sun, famous for its working-class origins, vibrant emigrant communities and a rich history of art and literature that carries its multiculturalism. On the contrary, Paris lies on a generally rainy plain, striving to be an enclave of power and elegance, home for the upper classes with highly emphasized high culture, luxury and congenital elitism. Whereas the culture of Marseille is steeped in genuineness and pride for the locale, Paris exudes eloquence and elegance, often with a hint of supremacy over the rest of the country. This tension between Paris and Marseille was born in 1660 when the forces of Louis XIV invaded Marseille, subduing the rebellious city and subordinating it to direct royal control. That ended a long-standing tradition of Marseille's independence and fostered great resentment, thus starting an embittered rivalry between the northern pole of power in Paris and the proudly independent southern port). This regional rivalry was eventually transferred to football in 1991. At the time, Marseille was not only France’s strongest team but also a serious contender in the Champions League. As pay TV was emerging in France, Canal+ made a move to buy PSG, which Bernard Tapie, OM’s president, found scandalous. Tapie launched a campaign around the idea that “France is not just Paris” and “The South cannot be subjugated by the North.” Media outlets fueled this fire, and a true derby was born. The match on May 29, 1993, solidified this rivalry as France’s most important. At that time, the political establishment was pursuing legal action against Tapie, and tensions were high. Marseille triumphed 3-1, with goals from Rudi Völler, Basile Boli, and Alen Bokšić after PSG had initially taken the lead through Vincent Guérin. This victory, which eventually secured Marseille’s title, sparked wild celebrations in the city. Since then, the rivalry, known as Le Classique , has endured for over 30 years. PSG won the league again in 1994 and, backed by Qatari ownership, has since built a team that competes on the global stage. Meanwhile, Marseille has struggled to keep pace, often fighting for a top-three finish. Despite these differences, Le Classique remains one of the most anticipated fixtures in French football. To better understand this theoretical concept in the sports world, we had the chance to delve into this topic more by interviewing a true fan, a classmate of ours, Aymen Madani from the 2As. Q: How did you become a fan of Marseille, and how has your connection to the club evolved over time? Aymen: "I’ve been fond of Marseille since the day I was born because, well, I was born and raised there. I’ve spent my entire life in the city. I’ve been a Marseille fan from the very beginning, even as a kid. I wasn’t deeply into football back then—I never joined a football club or association—but I followed Marseille as much as I could. When I entered middle school, around 11 or 12, I started watching their games more closely and got more involved as a fan. The matches against Paris made me prouder to support OM. As I grew older, I realized how intense the rivalry is, especially when Paris comes to Marseille. The reception Paris players get when they come to Marseille is just wild—it's chaotic. That’s when I thought, ‘Wow, we really do hate Paris.’" Q: Are there episodes of violence between fans? Aymen: "The atmosphere outside the stadium can get chaotic hours before a match. But PSG fans in Marseille and OM fans in Paris have been banned since 2010-2011. So, it’s been nearly 15 years that we’re not allowed to travel to these away games. The spots reserved for away fans are closed during these matches." Q: What is football to you? Aymen: "A family tradition—that's how I would characterize it. So with my mother and three elder sisters, we would watch often but actually, my sisters and especially my mother, despite their ignorance when Marseille plays, become quite interested and they would actually make efforts. They would cheer like their life depends on it and they would defend the équipe even though they do not understand the rules." Q: What’s the difference between ultras and hooligans? Aymen: "People often confuse ultras with hooligans, but they’re different. Hooligans use football as an excuse for violence. Ultras, on the other hand, are deeply dedicated to the club and consider themselves a key part of it. They’re like an extension of the club—when you think of the team, you think of the players, coach, president, and the ultras. Unfortunately, some ultra groups become violent, especially during away games, as they’re fiercely protective of their club. It’s their identity—they are the club, and the club is them." Q: What do you think about Mbappé leaving Paris? Aymen: "I’ve grown up watching PSG beat Marseille most of the time, and Mbappé has been our worst nightmare since 2018. We call him 'the turtle' or 'the nut' because he always haunts us. He’s the second-highest scorer in Le Classique and enjoys mocking us when he scores. However, I appreciate his talent with the French national team, especially since he carried them to victory in 2018. This season, our team is doing well, sitting in third place, tied with Monaco. If we can beat Paris this month, we could overtake them in the standings. We’ll see, but I don’t think our chances are much better, even if Mbappé leaves." Q: When was the last time your team beat PSG, and what were the circumstances? Aymen: "We last beat them in October 2020, right after the COVID-19 lockdowns, in their stadium. That was our first win against PSG in eight years, as we hadn’t beaten them since 2012. More recently, we won in February 2023 in the Coupe de France, beating them 2-1 at home. That victory turned into a massive street party, with people honking, singing and celebrating all night. The stadium atmosphere was incredible, but sadly, I wasn’t there in person. Watching it on TV was still unforgettable, though." Q: How does football impact a fan, especially a man's mood? Aymen: "My mood depends on their performance. So, I can come on a Monday with a depressed look because they lost the game. But if they won the day before and let's say we won against Paris the day before I'll be too cheerful and delighted. I am hosting a party."

56 seasons. 21 playoff appearances. 6 American League Pennants and 4 World Series Championships: the Athletics’ storied time in Oakland came to an end late this September with a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers, their final game in the city’s Coliseum. < Back Restless Relocations: The Hard Breaks Between City’s and their Sports Teams Pracheth Sanka October 31, 2024 56 seasons. 21 playoff appearances. 6 American League Pennants and 4 World Series Championships: the Athletics’ storied time in Oakland came to an end late this September with a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers, their final game in the city’s Coliseum. The team’s departure is part of a larger effort to permanently move the franchise to Las Vegas, with a quick pit-stop in Sacramento before moving into their new $1.5 billion publicly-financed home on the Strip. The A’s owner, John Fisher, remained silent on the team's relocation, though it is no secret that his inability to compromise with Oakland city officials played a major role in his decision. The feud stemmed from the team’s plans to move from the single-function Coliseum to a 55-acre, multi-use commercial area on the Oakland waterfront. The city’s inability to raise public funds pushed Fisher to look elsewhere, despite recent traction in allocating federal infrastructure money and clearing bureaucratic hurdles to initiate the project. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, who initially objected to Fisher’s proposals, allowed the A’s to submit a relocation application in early 2023. After securing $380 million from the Government of Nevada and leasing out an area in the heart of Las Vegas, the team began preparing for a full push to move from Oakland. By November 2023, Manfred started warming up to relocation efforts, and the 30-team league voted unanimously in favor of the A’s relocation. Oakland is now left without a professional sports team for the first time in sixty years, following similar relocations by the National Basketball League’s Golden State Warriors and the National Football League’s Raiders earlier this decade. Like the A’s, the Raiders moved from the aging , run-down Oakland Coliseum to the custom-made , fittingly all-black, multi-billion dollar Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Unlike Fisher, Raiders owner Mark Davis spared no suspense on the motive behind his move: money. Without the billion-dollar cost of constructing a new Oakland stadium, and with the aid of $750 million from the city of Las Vegas, Davis finalized his move to the team-barren Nevada desert, capitalizing on the area’s lack of professional sports teams. Vegas, however, was not Davis’ first choice. In competition with the then-St. Louis Rams, and in collaboration with the then-San Diego Chargers, the Raiders hoped to upgrade from the tenth-biggest sports market in the United States to the second: Los Angeles. While the Chargers and Rams were eventually successful in a bid to move to the city, it was originally the Chargers and Raiders who wished to jointly finance a stadium just south of city limits in Carson, even gaining the support of an N.F.L. relocation commission. Despite the difference in outcome, both the Chargers’ and Rams’ stories paint eerily similar pictures to that of Oakland. In San Diego, ownership attempted to replace the fifty-year-old Qualcomm Stadium with a $1.2 billion downtown arena. This failed to attract lawmaker support, who were reluctant to divert millions of taxpayer dollars towards it. Owner Dean Spanos instead decided to buy into a joint stadium with Rams’ owner Stan Kroenke, who himself harbored his fair share of reasons to leave his St. Louis home. Chief among them was the city’s promises to maintain a modern, N.F.L. caliber stadium, which was one of the main temptations for Kroenke to move the team to Missouri in the first place. As city officials repeatedly failed their contractual obligation to uphold the stadium , Kroenke became increasingly frustrated and detached from the team’s midwest home. Los Angeles, the Rams’ former home, was an open market for any football team, having remained teamless for 21 years. With the prospect of creating a modernized stadium in the largest untapped market in the U.S., Kroenke took an all-out bid on L.A., buying land in Inglewood before the owners even held a vote on the relocation. But were these moves worth it? Sure, the free market ideals of expanding into an untouched consumer pool can be exciting, but these ventures are not inexpensive. Even with government aid, financing the world’s most expensive stadium was much more costly than staying in their respective cities. With the aid of the N.F.L. and sponsorship rights, Spanos would have only needed to cover around $600 million, government aid not included. A move to Los Angeles cost him a relocation fee of $645 million , along with a $200 million loan to build the stadium. What is markedly more absurd though, is that this nearly $1 billion number pales in comparison to the astronomical costs incurred by the Rams. With what was expected to be a just over $2 billion project, Kroenke ended up contributing a monster $5.5 billion to build SoFi Stadium. On top of that, Kroenke was sued for $790 million by the City of St. Louis, a figure that itself rivals the $1.1 billion cost projected for a new stadium in Missouri. What is not accounted for in any balance sheet, however, is the hidden cost of fan alienation. As the new Los Angeles Rams found their way to Super Bowl LII, St. Louis bar patrons were offered free drinks for every Patriots’ score in a show of symbolic hatred towards their old team. Chargers fans rented a billboard near their new stadium to express that the team had “no freaking loyalty.” Raiders fans, while a bit split and muted in their protest, sold many of their season tickets away in the team's last stint in Oakland, uneager to financially support a team that was moving away. And this fan alienation came with no guarantee of fan attraction in their new cities. While the Nevada television market was often zoned for Raiders games, the area saw rival viewership with the Kansas City Chiefs, and Las Vegas is in closer proximity to the Phoenix-based Arizona Cardinals than to Oakland. This was reflected in the team's fan attendance rates, where visiting teams could often be greeted at a stadium almost halfway full with their supporters, though this trend is slowly improving. With the A’s move fast approaching, management should be wary of the fate of their relocated predecessors. The present-day success of the Chargers and Rams came at a high cost and there is no guarantee that the Raiders will be able to establish themselves as a serious anchor in the competitive Las Vegas market. Leaving Oakland can give the A’s a new start, a chance to build a strong legacy in Sin City, but only the future will tell if their big gamble will result in a winning hand.

< Back There's No Place Like Home Ibtissem Remdane The idea of home itself sounds deceptively simple. Yet, it is tremendously hard to define, as once you start untangling it, it reveals layers that are hard to pin down. On a campus as culturally diverse as ours, this topic must be something many of us, if not most of us, can relate to. For anyone with several ethnic backgrounds, “home” is not a neatly folded answer you keep at the back of your mind, ready to unwrap with ease when asked the question “Where are you from?” . Personally, I usually stutter, give up, then blurt out the three places I am linked to, in a random order. I have always felt that way because “home” , to me, has always been a patchwork. There’s the place you were born, the one you grew up in, the countries tied to your heritage, and now a campus far away from everything you ever knew. Each one of them feels like “home,” but then again none of them quite do. They overlap and argue with each other—they coexist like siblings fighting over the bigger room. “Home” is a notion that is both comforting and weirdly elusive for people navigating multiple worlds. That’s because “ home ”, at its very core, is a strange concept in itself. It is a human construction that materializes your attachment to a place and shapes your cultural identity, your sense of belonging. Yet, it’s also a feeling, an instinct and – for the lucky ones – a safe place where you can seek refuge. Growing up in France, I knew I was Arab because I was told so, loudly and often. Strangers reminded me that my hair was not straight enough, that the beard of my grandfather didn’t belong in “their” country, or that my grandmother’s accent was too thick to count as French. And then there was my middle school gym teacher, who decided my name was “too complicated” and renamed me Lea. Unfortunately, no, I am not making this up. But when I would visit Morocco or Algeria, I was the French girl. Even though I bathed in the culture through my grandparents, it often felt foreign and distant. My Arabic was clumsy, I couldn’t pronounce my “ ع ” (‘Ayn) properly and I somehow always managed to get lost in my own family’s house, like a tourist in a museum. The irony was painful: I was either too French or too Arab, but never in the right place. So where did that leave me? Not fully French, not fully Moroccan or Algerian, but somewhere in between, stranded. You live in this paradox of being uprooted in every place you’re supposed to be rooted in: always both an insider and an outsider. It’s a constant dissonance. Maya Angelou once wrote: “The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” What happens when that place doesn’t exist? When it’s scattered across continents? When every supposed “ home ” comes with conditions, tests or suspicions about who you are? When you feel like you’re stuck in a permanent audition, scrutinized by unforgiving eyes. I had this almost systematic urge of proving to some that I was French enough, while trying to prove to others that I was Arab enough. Unsurprisingly the jury is still out, I remain in the waiting room, and that is the heart of the issue. Growing up in a context where people make you question your legitimacy due to your ethnicity, it takes work to deconstruct the internalized shame. As living with the idea that you should be ashamed, that you must reject this intrinsic part of yourself in order to fit in, is also and foremost woven in racism. It’s the constant reminder that certain features, accents or cultural practices are deemed less “acceptable”, less “normal” and less “worthy”. The hardest part is that this work of recovering is ongoing: It’s about reclaiming a sense of pride, resisting the subtle pressures to erase or dilute the parts of yourself that society has historically marginalized. The truth is, this heritage is an asset rather than a burden, and probably one of the most precious strengths someone can have. Especially here, at Sciences Po Menton, you realize how much of a privilege it is to come from multiple parts of the world, to have several places you hesitate to call home. That is why I would argue that truly, home is within. It is both what you decide and what befalls you. It is several places and several moments in time stitched together. Again, it’s a patchwork. Because you carry the traits of your ancestors on your face. Because you still feel the grass of your old backyard on your skin. Because you can speak the language of the land—which, for me, mostly means that I am fluent in complaining. Because you remember the people you grew up with, even if you’ve forgotten their birthdays. Maybe that’s where we find comfort: knowing that even if home is fragmented, fluid or endlessly questioned, it remains something you carry, stubbornly, quietly, whether or not others (like your gym teacher) recognize it. So yes, the concept of “home” is confusing. It is warmth, it is the spicy food that makes your nose run, it’s the stories told by your cousins in a language you half understand but fully feel. It is contradictory. It is far and near at the same time. But it is still, somehow, uniquely yours. Perhaps what I have been trying to say is what James Baldwin understood before me: “[…] Home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.” Perhaps that’s the closest I can get to an answer. Photo Source: Evgeniya Bolyukh, Dreamstime Previous Next

< Back Turning Red or Blue? The Impact of the Presidential Debate on Undecided Voters Viktorie Voriskova September 30, 2024 Two candidates. Red and Blue. Ninety minutes that could have decided the direction the whole world will be heading in for the next four years… What were the consequences? On Sept. 10, at 9 p.m. EDT, the presidential debate between the Republican candidate Donald Trump and the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris took place on ABC News . As the debate approached, high anxiety and nervous anticipation flooded America. It was the first time presidential candidates met in a debate setting after the debacle that the world witnessed on June 24—the debate between the previous Democratic candidate, current American President Joe Biden, who withdrew from the race on July 2, and Donald Trump. Ever since the fiasco of the June debate, which was one of the main reasons that President Joe Biden decided to drop out of the race for the next presidential term, all eyes have been on Kamala Harris, the current vice president of the United States. Before the debate, Harris had appeared publicly during her numerous rallies and solo interviews, which she has given over the last few weeks. However, the general electorate still felt they needed to get to know the Democratic nominee more. A New York Times/Siena College poll stated that 28% of likely voters and 31% of registered voters expressed this sentiment. These numbers were glaringly high compared to how the electorate felt about the Republican candidate—only nine percent of the people questioned claimed that they needed to get to know Trump better. This statistic was of special importance, especially in regards to the so-called “swing states” —states in the United States of America that don't always “turn Red” or “turn Blue.” Among these “swing states” almost all sources listed the following: Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Nevada , possibly also Florida, which has been won two times by each party in the most recent four elections, always by a margin no bigger than two percent . It is very often the case, as can be seen from both the 2016 and the 2020 Presidential elections, that these few states may impact the final result of the presidential race. It was Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that all “turned blue,” which gave Biden the necessary electoral college votes to win the election. This gains even more significance with how tight the election currently seems to be: in a poll conducted by the Pew Research Centre during the days before the debate, about an equal percentage (49% of registered voters) claimed they would vote for Trump while an identical share would vote for Harris. Both candidates had a chance to present themselves, as well as their prospective policies, and show to the not-yet-decided voters that they were the right choice for them. Did they manage that? Right after the debate, Harris gained a five percent point lead among registered voters, just above the four-point advantage she had over Trump in an Aug. 21-28 Reuters/Ipsos poll . Another announcement, made within the first day after the debate, claimed that Vice-President Harris' campaign had raised $47 million in the 24 hours . Furthermore, there is clear evidence that confidence in Trump's victory is faltering within the stock market.hares of Trump’s company that owns the social media platform “Truth Social” slumped by 14% as betting odds of a win for Harris grew after the debate. Additionally, Trump Media & Technology (of which Trump owns more than 50%) slumped by 60% ever since mid-July, when Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate. Another slump was in TMTG's market value—it had jumped as much as $9.2 billion as expectations of a Trump victory rose early in the presidential race, mostly after he crossed the delegate threshold necessary to win the nomination, which is 1,215 votes . However, after Sept. 10, the stock has slumped 76% compared to its peak in March. Therefore, after the debate, there has been a clear shift of support towards Harris and, as shown by the major stock slums, a loss of trust in a possible Trump victory. However, how does all of this affect swing states and the electorate? In other words, did this debate have any real impact on the not-yet-decided voters? Before delving into analyses, a couple of facts about the electorate need to be established for the real power of the “swing-states” to be made clear. It is important to acknowledge that Trump's base of support is solid and has a strong core in Texas, Alaska, Louisiana, Arkansas, and other states that “turn Red” in (almost) every election. This all means that Trump has a solid base of electoral college votes that he is almost certainly going to get from Texas. This will likely be the consequential 40, which is the overall biggest number of votess. However, Democrats also have their strongholds, especially on both the West and the East Coast, with New York, New Jersey, California, Oregon and Washington almost always voting Democratic at least in the last 4 elections and bringing in a significant number of electoral college votes on their own. Therefore, both candidates are confident about a large amount of electoral votes and are now fighting over the not-even-third of the electoral votes that are left. Now, onto the analysis of the debate. Harris balanced several more liberal stances with more conservative ones, which is a staple of her strategy: attempting to present herself as a candidate that represents the values of a wide range of people. Harris continued to reinforce the argument, which she has been repeating for the last four weeks of the campaign, that Donald Trump is not a person that can be trusted on any major issue, be it abortion, the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war or any other polarizing problem. She also made a strong statement about arms ownership, saying that she “is a gun owner ”, which is controversial for many Americans. However, it goes to show that she has certain conservative values that could help her lure in undecided voters who are more on the right side of the political spectrum. Furthermore, right after the debate, Harris flew over to North Carolina, a state that has voted Republican in three out of the last four elections, where she amassed over 10,000 Democratic supporters . This is a part of the Democratic strategy of entertaining rallies “on a wide map, ” which, as her administration team admits, is costly. Nevertheless, it allows Harris to try and lure electoral votes even from counties that have predominantly voted “Red” in the last four years, as North Carolina did. On the other hand, Trump has mainly stuck to the narrative of connecting Harris with the Biden administration, talking about inflation and blaming it, as well as the slow job-opportunity growth, on the Democrats and her. Furthermore, he also took a strong stance on international politics—reinforcing the refusal to be a part of NATO if other member states don't spend the demanded two percent of their GDP on defense. Additionally, Trump’s advisers see one of the most efficient electoral paths to the White House in holding onto North Carolina while winning back Pennsylvania and Georgia, battleground states won by President Biden in 2020. This shows that the Republican strategy is much more focused compared to the Democratic one. This allows Trump to take a more specific stance towards his potential voters, which is exactly what he did during the presidential debate—demonizing Democrats, spreading lies about their policies and convincing the audience that the only path to economic growth and stability is voting red. So, how big can the impact of the debate on the undecided voters be? Charu Chanana, global market strategist at the investment platform Saxo, claims that "The U.S. Presidential debate achieved its goal by providing a decisive edge to one of the candidates in what has been an exceptionally close race.” On the other hand, Michelle Goldberg, a columnist in the New York Times stated, “I fundamentally don’t believe that people whose minds aren’t made up in this election are waiting to hear a certain policy position. If you’re making up your mind between voting for Kamala Harris and voting for Donald Trump, you are somebody who probably doesn’t care a lot about politics or pay a lot of attention to politics.” In short, we can say the debate was successful in drawing support for Harris and a speed bump for the Trump campaign. However, these statistics still say very little about the real number of people that this event has convinced to vote one way or another. Trump and Harris have very contrasting opinions and stances on controversial issues, making it clear for many people who of the two to vote for, or rather who to definitely not vote for. Therefore, it is difficult to say if a single debate was enough to convince the undecided voters if they have not decided yet, after several long months of campaigns. However, its overall impact is difficult to tell and we will have to wait until Nov. 5 to see if the debate, campaigning and interactivity have been fruitful for either candidate.

< Back Democrats’ Worst Fear: Pro-Life Bill Attempts to Kill Roe By Madeline Wyatt October 31, 2021 When Texas’s Senate Bill 8 (SB8) took effect on September 1, known as the “Texas Heartbeat Act” under section one of the law, most people expected it to reach the Supreme Court for violating Roe v. Wade ’s precedent under which women are entitled to privacy when receiving abortions. It was the Democrats’ worst fears come true: Trump’s heirs on the Supreme Court could finally make good on his campaign promise to overturn the nation’s landmark ruling. A few days before the law was set to go into effect, it went to the Supreme Court in an emergency request to block the law until its constitutionality could be determined, but in a surprisingly convoluted and pedantic motion relying extensively upon the law’s more dubious provisions, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, declined to block its passage. Still, the Court did not rule on the law’s constitutionality— something John Roberts’s dissenting opinion made abundantly clear. The most odious provisions in SB8 were crafted with surgical precision meant to circumvent judicial review, which proved particularly ideal for judges who take an especially textualist approach to ignore the blatant unconstitutionality of SB8— this explains why a court imbued with Scalia apostles allowed the Texas law to proceed into effect. The majority opinion held that while the federal court is not endowed with the ability to block a law in question, it is allowed to block the enforcement of the law. SB8 is not technically enforced by state or local officials, rather it is enforced by deputizing all private citizens; in other words, private citizens are responsible for reporting and suing any persons who are thought to have had, given, or aided in abortions— meaning that patients, doctors, nurses, receptionists, and even Uber drivers can be sued under this law if an ordinary citizen believes an abortion took place. If the courts rule in favor of the private reporting citizen, the citizen is entitled to $10,000 by the state, creating a dystopian bounty-hunting system that insulates the Texas government from being held responsible for its law that it created like a game of legislative hot potato. The majority opinion, being the good and noble textualists they are, argued that because it is instead private citizens who are responsible for enforcing the law, the bill could not prohibit Texas from enforcing the law as it would not technically be Texas enforcing it. Such an argument is absurd, however: if the government shares the will of the people— a necessary reflection of its society— then the laws that are created by the government would be representative of the people, meaning the Supreme Court’s choice to enjoin a law by restricting government enforcement would also mean that it restricts its people; so, it does not matter who enforces the law, it’s only a matter that such an onerous law should exist— especially when the net result should be the same. After the Supreme Court declined to enjoin the law, Biden’s Department of Justice sued the State of Texas challenging the constitutionality of the law, arguing in two parts that it both violated Roe v. Wade ’s legal precedent and required proper judicial review of its dubious enforcement mechanisms. On October 6, Western Texas’s District Court enjoined the law as the judge ruled both that the law itself was unconstitutional and the enforcement mechanism was blatantly unconstitutional as it sought to avoid judicial review. No more than two days later, Texas’s appeal to the 5th Circuit Court was successful, reinstating SB8. The DOJ has not yet appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but is expected to do so within a few weeks. The Supreme Court could choose to decline to hear the constitutionality of the case, but it would be incredibly unlikely as it challenges Roe v Wade as well as the lack of precedent for the enforcement mechanism. SB8 may be the bill to finally kill Roe v. Wade , but its future is far from final. TX SB8 flies under the guise of modern progress for the rights and liberation of the unborn— a frontier of the American left’s immoral and profane agenda. But for the women who will most feel the impacts of this bill, it’s a matter of temporal whiplash as the rugged individualism that the lone star state has promoted since 1836 failed to disclose that only men were given the courtesy of wearing the lone star moniker. Because somehow, nearly 200 years later, the lone star’s liberation is still the woman’s condemnation, leaving us wondering if we ever knew the meaning of progress in the first place.