Although Lula’s victory is a great step towards Brazilian stability and democracy, it is unfortunately not the only determinant. < Back Brazil Election: What Does Lula’s Comeback Mean for Brazil and the World? By Catarina Vita November 30, 2022 From conversations in Brazilian bars to presidential debates that seem more informal than the latter, different opinions about the country’s political past, present and future have recently surfaced. When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, announced his candidacy for president at the beginning of 2020, strong emotions ranging from extreme concern to joy competed in Brazil’s socio-political arena. In 2018 Lula was imprisoned for his involvement in the high-profile Operation Lava Jato corruption and money laundering scandal. Still, she was released a year later when his arrest was ruled unconstitutional. In March 2020, Lula formally announced his presidential candidacy to the press. His opponent, Jair Bolsonaro, whose conservative populist ideals and anti-Lulism comprise his main characteristics, served as Brazil’s president for the last four years. The political stage was, thus, set for a direct tussle between the two adversaries and a possible end to the conservative-leftist national divide. Context The Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), the political party that Lula represents, ruled Brazil for years. Lula and Dilma Rousseff, his successor, were among the rulers with the highest approval rates in the country’s history. By spearheading the bolsa familia welfare program, monetary aid for families in need and affirmative action to boost the mobility of marginalized ethnic groups, the PT systematically tackles Brazil’s social inequalities. . Nonetheless, allegations of money laundering and corruption quickly destabilized the party, culminating in Rousseff’s impeachment and Lula’s imprisonment. Jair Bolsonaro emerged in the public eye after being one of the firmest advocates for Dilma’s impeachment. His proposals included neoliberal economic practices, such as privatization, which has encouraged lucrative practices such as the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest. He had also shown himself an enemy of Brazilian public universities, cutting funds for these institutions throughout his mandate. A vocal defender of Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship, he also endeavored to loosen gun laws. Amid widespread outrage against PT’s embroilment in Lava Jato, Bolsonaro easily ascended to presidency in 2018. His victory for the middle to upper-class of Brazil, where “anti-PTism” dominated, spelled the end of corruption and the start of strong leadership. Considering the flow of events from 2018 to the present, this was not the outcome of Bolsonaro’s mandate. From the start of his time in office, Bolsonaro fast-tracked deforestation processes in the Amazon Rainforest and neglected African religious persecution. He diverted attention from the latter by stoking anger about “Christophobia,” the supposed discrimination against Brazil’s Christian community. The COVID-19 pandemic then emerged, and Bolsonaro, denying vaccine proposals and appointing four different Ministers of Health in a year, drove Brazil into a downward spiral of unrest. In the nation’s Northern region, the excessive burning of the Amazon Rainforest prompted a saturation of patients with respiratory problems in public hospitals. In Amapá, there was a general blackout and lack of respirators for COVID-19 patients. The Elections Since Brazil welcomes more than two political candidates, politicians from various parties had campaigns and participated in the presidential debate. On Oct. 2, Brazilians cast their ballots for presidential candidates and regional representatives. Besides Lula and Bolsonaro, the most-voted candidate was Simone Tebet, who won over 4.16% of the public. Since no candidate had over 50% of the votes, the next president was determined in a runoff election held on Oct. 30. During this 28-day interval, both candidates raced for the Brazilian majority. This period only weakened the Bolsonarist campaign. Carla Zambelli, a politician and ally of Bolsonaro, drew a gun in public; open carry has been illegal in Brazil since 2005. Roberto Jefferson, another prominent supporter of Bolsonaro, was imprisoned and attacked the police with fire weapons, causing many police officers to vote against Bolsonaro. Despite Lula carrying the majority in both shifts and clinching the presidency, regional representation in Brazil virtually belongs to rightist and conservative-leading members. More than half of Parliament subscribes to the ideologically inconsistent centrão; congressmen championing the center-right regularly make alliances with far-right politicians. The Future: What does it mean for the world? Generally, the international community received the election outcome positively, and it was lauded as a victory for environmental preservation and religious and ethnic tolerance. Nonetheless, with Bolsonaro’s continued presence in the political realm, Lula will face obstacles. The former president has previously asserted his belief in the illegitimacy of Brazil’s electoral process. Joining this with his overall appreciation of the military dictatorship in Brazil and insinuations of a possible coup, the world must remain alert. Furthermore, the inconsistency between Lula’s proposals and Parliamentary political persuasions may slow the process of passing Lula-favorable laws. Although Lula’s victory is a great step towards Brazilian stability and democracy, it is unfortunately not the only determinant.

It was arguably the recent administrative scandal, which sparked mass intercampus outrage on social media, that first put Le Havre on the radar of most Sciences Po students. However, upon transferring to Menton, I can only posit that the situation here is not as dissimilar as one would think. < Back ‘Isn’t That the Campus Where…?’ The Student Experience in Le Havre By Magdelena Offenbeck March 30, 2022 It was arguably the recent administrative scandal, which sparked mass intercampus outrage on social media, that first put Le Havre on the radar of most Sciences Po students. Upon transferring to Menton merely a month after the incident, I most frequently was asked “what happened with your admin?” when I told students that I came from Le Havre. It seems that the Normandy campus is now associated with two things: bad weather, and an even worse admin. However, my experience as a 1A for the first semester cannot be simplified to these two terms. The port city of about 274,000 inhabitants that inspired Jean-Paul Sartre’s “Nausea” creates a student experience of its own. Whether it be housing in shipping containers, nightly electric scooter races, or stargazing on bunkers from World War II, Le Havre has about as many similarities with Menton as it has differences. Here is my experience with the two campuses on opposite sides of France. The Weather Questions about the failure of the Le Havre (LH) administration are quickly followed by jokes about the Normandy weather. These are not unfounded, as it does rain constantly. Not only do the rain and the freezing cold of northern European winter make walks to class painful, but the wind will, at times, make it feel as though you are walking on a treadmill on maximum incline. Summer starts early and winter ends late, but when the sun does shine, the city transforms. The ocean promenade fills with skateboarders, ice cream shops, and brave swimmers who dip their toes into the 16-degree Atlantic Ocean. The cafés and parks come alive, and there is a sense of common appreciation for the rare days of sunshine. While it may be unfortunate that LH students are forced to leave their summer clothes in their suitcases, the weather does have two advantages. Firstly, complaining about the rain and wind with fellow Sciences Pistes is as much of a conversation starter as it is a bonding experience. Secondly, even though the wind makes every day a bad hair day, there is no risk of sweating on your way to class. The Student Life What Le Havre lacks in scenery, it makes up with vibrant student life. As there is no Côte d’Azur that provides a student experience for itself nearby, students have created a range of associations and clubs that entertain when the Le Havre city environment does not. Throughout the week, the hallways of the half-a-building campus Sciences Po shares with INSA become alive when student initiatives hold their meetings. In addition to the usual student activities, there are five different dance clubs ranging from Bollywood to Contemporary, three campus bands, as well as a sailing and a Mixed Martial Arts club to name just some. Furthermore, where the curriculum fails to holistically engage with most parts of Asia, student clubs, such as the Southeast Asia Society, fill the gap and create opportunities for cultural exchange. The party life also does the Sciences Po reputation justice, even though the Menton warmth favors more frequent and larger events. As home to 13,600 students, Le Havre boasts a wide selection of bars — open year-round — which can be used as an alternative to house parties. The Region Menton and Le Havre may both be port towns on paper, but they could not be more different. LH stands as a relatively isolated industrial city that has yet to be connected to a high-speed train network. Hence, there is nothing comparable to the ten-minute trip to Italy or short stopover in Monaco that Menton students use. Despite the lack of speedy public transport, LH is approximately two hours away from Paris by train, which allows for frequent day trips to the capital. Within Normandy, the regional capital Rouen and Caen are readily accessible. But, the most scenic nature can be seen at Étretat, which offers white cliffs with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. Le Havre itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its post World War II concrete architecture designed by Auguste Perret. The city’s unique historical look creates an interplay of Parisian architecture and Soviet-style cement in the centre. Additionally, the hills above the city, notably the commune Sainte Adresse, still have countless French Norman style villas overlooking the ocean. While the statues and artistic constructions across the city only marginally counteract its dreary gray, stargazing on deserted bunkers while overlooking the ocean does provide for an inimitable experience. The Typical Day After checking the weather app to find out whether rain, wind, or clouds will be the challenge of the day, a LH student typically puts on a rainproof jacket and takes a Lime to campus. Limes are electric scooters that owe their name to their green-white color and can be found everywhere in the city. They are as much death traps as they are practical and constitute the main mode of transportation for those who do not like to cycle. As most teachers can take a direct train from Paris, Zoom classes are a rarity. However, one may need to make use of Zoom links when the bridge connecting most student residences and campus is closed, forcing students to walk around the entire basin. Between classes, students use the spacious library which is equipped with computers and study rooms. After class, student life usually takes place in 2A apartments or the many student residences. Most 1As live in CROUS residences, government-sponsored housing that usually offers rooms with en-suite bathrooms and kitchens for around 300€ a month. The most famous residence is arguably the repurposed “A Docks,” where students live in repurposed shipping containers. Even though Le Havre is a larger town, most students live close together, and it is almost as challenging to avoid SciencesPistes on the streets as it is in Menton. The Admin It is only appropriate to finish this portrait with a note on the controversial Le Havre administration. In general, the issues one faces with the admin in LH are similar to those in Menton. Both campuses share unresponsiveness, ignorance towards student needs, and a lack of organization. While the recent scandal concerning the LH campus director was a particularly shocking incident, it arguably only highlighted one institutional issue. Sciences Po fails on several ends to provide adequate support to its students, especially outside of the academic framework. In the course of the LH administrative scandal, many of the problems that were identified and passed on to Paris were entirely out of the hands of the regional campus administration. While they were no less pertinent and urgent, this created the image of an administration that fails on more levels than that of other campuses. Upon coming to Menton, I can only posit that the situation here is not as dissimilar as one would think.

"If you don't believe at your age that you're not going to change the world, who will?” < Back How to Begin a Career in Change-Making? A Guide for the Idealists & an Interview with Lucile Marbeau By Lara Harmankaya For ambitious Sciences Po students, the search for a career is already on the agenda. LinkedIn accounts have been made, and attempts to network with professors after class are common. There is, after all, the frightening prospect of unemployment that is constantly reminded to us by our friends studying STEM. Yet, I have come to notice that this attachment to internship-hunts and forming the right network is not one that completely stems from the pursuit of self-interest and prestige. In fact, I suspect that a large part of this future-oriented thinking is derived from the students’ motivation to change some of the problematic characteristics of our world — as idealistic as that sounds. Admitting that such thoughts circulate in my head quite regularly, I decided to inquire into the life of a practitioner who works in the humanitarian field. Lucile Marbeau, a Sciences Po graduate and the Deputy Communications Manager of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), kindly agreed to my proposal to interview her. She offered insights into the structure of the ICRC, described the progression of her career from freelance journalism to communications, and shared some advice on how young people can enter into this field. The interview took off with an overview of Marbeau’s career, beginning with her time in journalism, through which she became acquainted with the functions and operations of the ICRC. She told me that she worked in Kosovo, Israel and the West Bank, where she came to know about the International Community of the Red Cross and also the Palestinian Red Crescent. She made sure to carefully differentiate between the national and international components of the Red Cross, which often get confused. She stated that ‘national societies,’ such as the French Red Cross and the Egyptian Red Crescent are not the same as the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has its headquarters in Geneva. The ICRC is not affiliated with any government, as are the national Red Cross societies. What also distinguishes the ICRC is the fact that its mandate is “specifically on armed conflicts to assist and protect the victims of armed conflicts, and also to continue on developing and promoting international humanitarian law.” In her words, its “basic aim is to make war less horrible.” One way is through the organization’s work on finding missing persons, which Marbeau’s journalistic research on the Kosovo conflict directed her to learn more about. She appreciated how the ICRC is able to keep the files of missing persons alive, even when the political incentives to do so begin to disappear. It becomes one of the very few sources of answers to families who are desperate for even the smallest trace of information about their loved ones. Acknowledging the importance of such efforts, she seized the opportunity to be a part of this organization when it appeared. For her, the transition from journalism to working as a spokesperson for the ICRC entailed “a different frame of mind.” “The international community of the Red Cross, because it's a neutral organization, is going to act differently and discuss things in confidence bilaterally with the parties and not so much in the public,” quite unlike the work of a journalist who must “address political issues” directly and dauntlessly. Leaving behind a political voice to not “diminish our access to the victims of the conflict” appears to be a worthy sacrifice. In fact, not even a sacrifice at all, but a practice of diplomacy: “what I appreciated arriving in the international community of the Red Cross is this position of neutrality, of not saying, who is right, who is wrong. And it's not for the ICRC or a philosophical point of view at all. It's much more a principle, a guiding principle, in order to be talking to all sides.” Also, it is necessary to protect the institution’s ability to “act in favor of those who are missing, those who are detained, for the wounded, for the civilians, and the most vulnerable categories of people in war.” When asked to elaborate more on her experience working as a journalist, she replied by saying that one of its main merits was the way it prompted her to “really dig into specific contexts.” Through her visits to Israel and the West Bank, she believed she was “able to understand more and more with finesse the conflict itself and the polarization between communities.” She revealed that she learned how to not look at issues with “judgements that often come with ignorance of the historical dynamics, and of those who aren’t hurt directly by the conflict.” Instead, she pointed out the importance of going to the area of conflict physically, or communicating with others “whether they be politicians, academics, activists, people who are trying to change things, and to be able to give that back to people who will never have that opportunity.” For Marbeau, at the heart of journalism is “to enable the reader to understand why this is a conflict, and what are the different views which are being expressed.” She continues: “As a journalist, you have the privilege of being able to have that access to people. But then it's also a huge responsibility, because when you write, you have power. You have power over those who don't necessarily have the same knowledge as you do. So you have a power to influence, and this is where for me, it remains extremely important to be honest intellectually, and to really convey as many possible facts and conflicting views.” Navigating the battles of clashing interests is one of the most significant and challenging duties of ICRC delegates. Yet, sometimes people outside the field of international humanitarian law fail to understand what this job is composed of. In quoting ICRC delegate Marcel Junod’s Le troisième combattant , Ms Marbeau emphasized precisely what the principal objective is: “the role of the humanitarians is to go in between the opposite sides and create a space, a humanitarian space. And this is what's precious about the work that my colleagues do everywhere in the world.” They aim to “preserve as much possible humanitarian space within the fighting.” International humanitarian law is one of the few leverages utilized for this purpose. The difficulty arises from the fact that “the time of the fighting, the time of the suffering, the time of the media, isn't the same. And it requires often from colleagues a lot of patience before getting some results and constant, constant dialogue with the different parties.” Thus, as we can see, the application of law which is embedded in the Geneva Conventions, principally emerges from “a lot of patience, diplomacy, and time.” A career in this field could be the right choice for you if you find yourself able to overcome such complications. Marbeau’s extensive knowledge of the ICRC’s functions and institutional structure was also very informative. When I asked her about how she and her colleagues deal with obstinate politicians, uncooperative officials and other political obstacles that hinder their objectives, she underlined the place of “collective responsibility” when respecting and implementing humanitarian law. At the ICRC, it is the cooperation of many branches that ensures compliance with “the law of the weakest.” “We're going to be speaking with the legal services of the ministry, for instance, of defense. It's then going to be the Head of Delegation who's going to be talking to ministers. It's going to be our colleague who is himself a former military who's going to be discussing and doing training in international humanitarian law directly [with] the military. So you're going to have at different levels, by different specialized colleagues, who work on different parts of the party to really bring a culture of respect for the law.” Even in the case of documenting ongoing grave violations, the interconnected network that constitutes the human rights field allows the ICRC to urge other actors to play their part. “When we've already gone through all the chain of commands, spoken to the highest level of the authorities—when nothing is moving—then what you do is mobilize other countries… And so this is what we remind them at some point, saying, ‘we know you're financing them. You're sending them weapons. You have a responsibility in making sure that they don't commit violations.’” Accountability is key in this field as it is in others. Without it, the successes of the ICRC in preventing violations would never materialize. The rest of the interview was dedicated to her advice to young people. When I inquired about whether she finds her job fulfilling, and her recommendations to start a career in humanitarian work, her first response was, “Yes, but the first thing I'd say is act now. There's already things that you can do in your environments, working, volunteering for, for instance, at the French Red Cross, or the Red Cross of Monaco, other groups, there's already some social work that can be done where you are, and you don't need to wait…to work to help the most vulnerable and defend them.” As we begin preparing for our month of Parcours Civique volunteering, perhaps this can remind us of the salience of gaining experience and exposure to realities early on. Her second piece of advice was to pinpoint the “identity” of the kind of organization one may want to work for. She suggested that, “if you want to do advocacy work, it's not going to be with the International Committee of the Red Cross, at least not publicly. There, you have to turn to organizations like Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, then have others who are going to be more specific on certain issues. But if the role is to speak out, if you want to speak out to the world about violations ongoing and for people everybody to know about it, it's not going to be in the International Community of the Red Cross because we work in a much more discreet manner…we need to be able to assure that we stay in the field and be able to help people on both sides of the front line to discuss with all the parties.” The first step in beginning a career in either of these pathways is through trying them out, and utilizing our Parcours Civique could be a beneficial way to do so. One of the main takeaways from this interview, for me, was the importance of overcoming passivity. Marbeau’s commitment to diplomacy and dialogue–as the spokesperson for the ICRC–was evident, yet she was also cognizant of how “collective action is needed in order to keep those minimal rights.” Just like the collaboration that takes place between the many institutional branches of the ICRC, international actors and different stakeholders must work together to achieve solid, tangible results. This is all the more pertinent now, where “the use of force is strongly coming back on the international scene as a way of solving conflicts.” When I asked her to share her expectations from future generations and what she wishes to see more of in the future, she urged us, the future generations, to “not get beat down, by whether it be national politics or world politics, thinking that your voices don't matter, that things are messed up, that things won't change. Because, I mean, when you look at it through history, you can righteously be despaired. But you must also see the positive evolutions of rights, which have been fought for and which have been achieved.” Feeling small and impotent on a larger scale is a natural occurrence for all of us. Marbeau’s message is one that encourages us to direct these feelings into action, on whichever scale that may be. “Some people tend to also kind of retreat in their personal sphere because they feel powerless. And I think one of the messages to say is, well, even if you feel powerless, you're still going to get impacted by what's going on in your environment, whether it be national or international. So you have to believe again in the fact that you can do something about it. Or else you're only a victim. You're only receiving the blows. You're only passive.” I wish to conclude this article with Lucile Marbeau’s final words of motivation, which I believe need to be emphasized one more time. “I'd say, really start engaging yourselves now. And it's the best way to see also to see what interests you the most, what issues you hold more dearly also. Because, depending on your age, there's different strengths and weaknesses. And for now, you need to believe. If you don't believe at your age that you're not going to change the world, who will?” “So it's also about believing again in the fact that values, reason, law, can triumph over force and antagonisms. And it's almost a bit idealistic, what I'm saying.” This may be true, but if we are not idealists, then who can we entrust with the goal of imagining a more ideal world?

A town that I have learned to love and maybe sometimes to hate, but one that I will certainly miss when I have to leave eventually. This petite town of citrons has seen many generations of the Ummah pass through it. I think it holds a special place in our hearts. I hope you will feel the same way! < Back Tips To Survive Sciences Po Menton Eleni Dimitropoulou April 30, 2025 The end of the second semester is approaching, marking, for me, the end of a whole year in the magical Menton—the “pearl” of the French Riviera—as a first-year student. A year ago today, I learned that I had been accepted to this university, situated in a foreign country whose language I did not speak, miles away from my home. I believe that thousands of other students are in the same situation right now. That is why, in this article, I will act as a big sister who will answer in advance to all the possible concerns you, 1As probably have about the Menton campus. I will offer you some advice. Here is everything you need to know: from how to find a house to where you can eat, at which beach you will tan the fastest and at which bar you will find the best drinks. Let's start with the simplest. Menton, my favorite city and the one I now call home, is located on the French Riviera, 40 minutes away from Nice, fifteen from Monaco and ten from Italy. Yes, it sounds crazy that you can cross the border on foot—but a word of advice, don't try it alone or during the night. The landscapes will enchant you, along with the indisputably blue waters, unparalleled sunsets, colorful buildings and smells from different restaurants. This description sounds like it comes from a tourist guide, but Menton is not only that. The Ummah , from the Arabic word “ أُمَّة” meaning identity, nation and community, is the spirit of the student community, which is what differentiates us from other campuses. From the first moment of integration week, you will notice it immediately. The people you will know here will mark you, even if you are bored of seeing them every day, in whatever alley you are in. Being Greek and having a special relationship with food, I would like to continue with my favorite restaurants. Although quite unhappy that I can't enjoy a souvlaki , I can say that I am stunned by the sushi that you can find in Ventimiglia at Sushi Iyo with unlimited top-ups for fifteen euros. It is the first thing I show to any friend visiting, as if it is a sight. Of course, I could not forget the beloved pizza Vesuvio that we usually take and eat on the rocks overlooking the sea and the flying seagulls. Also, there is Pad Thai Express , which satisfies two people and is quite economical. Of course, Monaco, as the center of luxury and well-being, is quite expensive. However, I have to say, some restaurants there balance price and quality, such as Sushi Planet next to the beach with a view of the yachts, or the beautiful Maya Pasta near the city center. In Menton, if you are ever looking for a pastry or an early brunch option, Lagom and L’Atelier Boulangerie never disappoint. When it comes to nightlife, do not expect much from our small town—the exception being the bar Le Retro , where every Thursday is a student night. Unfortunately, it lasts only until midnight, before the elderly residents get angry and start throwing water or pots from the windows because of the noise. The service provided by Anto is one of a kind, the drinks at ridiculously low prices and enjoyable with the Ummah around you. There are, of course, other bars at Sablettes , the beach below our university, which we use mostly for events organized by the association of the campus, like the Bureau Du Sport (BDS), the Bureau Des Élèves (BDE) and Sciences Alcoolemiques . But if you are going there by yourself or in a group, I would not recommend it: the age groups frequently found there tend to be on the older side and the music is average. Nice, however, offers a wide range of nightlife, both bars and clubs, which are worth visiting, such as the Opera , the High Club —which has ladies’ nights with free entry before 01:00 at night—and the Waka Bar , with great music and many surprises reminiscent of a Greek festival with people dancing on the bar and the tables. However, be mindful of the train schedules, especially on weekdays and Sundays, where the last train leaves at 10:30 or even earlier. On Saturdays, fortunately, it is 01:25, so it is easier to reach the centers of nightlife. Otherwise, if you miss it, you will have to wait for the next train at 05:00 in the morning or take a taxi, which costs about 40 euros. In Monte Carlo, like in Jimmy’s , things are a little more complicated since some taxis will not cross the border, so there is a possibility that you will need to walk for 15 minutes to the famous bridge border crossing. Of course, some of our fellow students have cars, but they are few and in demand, so if you need them, you should inform them in advance. However, for the entire year, I would suggest that you buy your ZOU card online , which costs 90 euros from September to August and you can travel with it, without additional charge, on routes from Ventimiglia to Marseille. Now, regarding supermarkets in Menton, the most popular ones are Carrefour-City and U-Express . Carrefour-City is open every day until 22:00 except on Sundays when it opens until 21:00, so after several classes that finish at 7:45, you can go there. While U-Express is a bit further away from the city center, it is bigger and thus less expensive, having a larger selection available. In Picard , there is a wide variety of frozen foods suitable for students who are just learning to cook or don't have that much time to prepare food. The university cafeteria is only open for one hour from 12:15 until 13:15, which might be too early for students who come from Mediterranean countries, with limited choices and relatively expensive prices of 5 euros regardless of what you buy. The vending machines have mainly sweet treats, as do the bake sales organized by associations. However, coffee can only be found in the cafeteria for a low price of 50 cents if the machine is working. Regarding finding a house, I know the process is quite stressful, especially when your first language is not French and you are abroad, as you cannot see the house in person. So, I suggest you search on the Sciences Po housing website or contact a real estate agency. Personally, I think the best option is to send a message or join the groups that exist on Facebook. In this way, you could also come into contact with second-year students who are leaving their homes, giving you a guarantee. The price of the rent can range between 300 and 1,200 euros, depending on your requirements, location and whether you will be staying with a roommate. Just be aware that Garavan is 15 minutes from the university but far from the city center—25 to 30 minutes—but the prices are much more affordable. Dorms are also available in Villa Jasmin for the girls and Menton Plus for the guys. However, spots are limited to around 30, and priority is given to exchange students. Just so you know, they do not have the vibe of American dorms or sororities—you are not allowed to bring your friends in, you need to pay 10 euros for the laundry and the rooms can be empty and cold. However, if you want to be part of a close-knit community and make new friends straight away, it is not a bad option for the first year or couple of months. Some of you might be eager to continue their gym rat era or just feel healthier. In our small town, despite its size, we have quite a few options available. First and foremost, we have the Stephy’OM gym two minutes away from the university, although you have to pass through the stairs of hell (you will understand the name once you have to walk over them during Aparathon - a night were you, the freshcomers go around the famous collocations of Menton playing games including alcohol). It is 45 euros per month, there is an open salle from 08:00 until 21:00 on weekdays, but also group classes such as T-Rex, Cardio, Zumba, Yoga, etc. However, you need to book beforehand through the app, which is without any extra cost. Another gym many Sciences Pistes prefer is Narev’s club, which is a bit further away. It is more of a hardcore gym with weights and a wide variety of equipment and machines. If you want to stay in form, you can also join one of Sciences Po’s sports teams, ranging from volleyball to cheerleading and from rugby to boxing; you are welcome in any team. But I won't go further on that as I don't want to steal the BDS’ job. Concerning the hot question of whether you need to speak French, the answer is simply no. Almost everyone on campus speaks English and there are many tourists all year round, so shop owners are familiar with that language as well. But do not think for a second that you can escape it. Sciences Po has everyone take French classes, ranging from two to four hours per week, unless you have at least a B2 level, the same being true for English. If you have met the above requirements, you can take up to two other foreign languages such as Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Turkish. I left the worst for the end. Menton can be really rainy, especially in the winter, so do not forget to pack your umbrella and warm clothes. I think these are the main points I would have liked to know before coming to Menton. Keep in mind that the BDE uploads a lot of useful information before your arrival and also has an open poll with questions and answers on their Instagram page. This is Menton through my eyes. A town that I have learned to love and maybe sometimes to hate, but one that I will certainly miss when I have to leave eventually. This petite town of citrons has seen many generations of the Ummah pass through it. I think it holds a special place in our hearts. I hope you will feel the same way! Photo source: Mia Battaglia on Flickr

La politique regorge de mystères. L’un d’eux, parmi les plus importants, est l’explication d’un phénomène à l'œuvre depuis quelques décennies dans les démocraties occidentales. < Back Extrême-droite : les raisons d’une percée électorale transnationale By Jonathan Smidtas Schalita “La peur mène à la colère, la colère mène à la haine, la haine… mène à la souffrance” Maître Yoda La politique regorge de mystères. L’un d’eux, parmi les plus importants, est l’explication d’un phénomène à l'œuvre depuis quelques décennies dans les démocraties occidentales. Ce phénomène est l’entrée des partis qualifiés par leurs adversaires d’extrême-droite au centre du jeu politique. Qualifiés d'extrême-droite, mais jamais revendiqués comme tels. L’explication classique est simple : depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale et les horreurs du régime nazi, le qualificatif d’extrême-droite est devenu plus que péjoratif. Refuser l’étiquette infâme ne serait alors qu’une stratégie afin de ne pas effrayer un électorat modéré. Poussé à son paroxysme, cela culminerait dans une politique de dédiabolisation consistant non seulement à refuser la qualification d’extrême-droite, mais même à adopter des positions modérées tout en gardant, au fond, un même fil directeur raciste. Mais peut-être ne sont-ce là que des idées fausses, fruit d’une vision déformée de la situation politique contemporaine. Réaliser un lien direct entre les extrêmes-droites d’hier et d’aujourd’hui serait alors une erreur. Certes, hier comme aujourd’hui, ces partis se fondent sur l’acharnement contre une population minoritaire, bouc-émissaire explicatif de tous les maux dont le plus important se trouverait être le délitement du pays. Toutefois, le degré de radicalité serait tellement différent qu’il entraînerait un changement de nature. Affirmer cela serait faire preuve d’une naïveté confondante. Ce serait oublier que l'extrême-droite ne se réduit pas au projet génocidaire hitlérien, mais constitue une famille politique plus large dont les hérauts contemporains ne font que reprendre les thèses traditionnelles. Rejet de l’étranger, projet autoritaire, opposition à la démocratie représentative, complotisme… Les racines sont les mêmes et le danger toujours présent. La majorité des électeurs français l’a compris et vote contre les représentants de l’extrême-droite. Mais ils furent toujours moins nombreux : Jacques Chirac recueillait 82% des suffrages en 2002, Emmanuel Macron 66% en 2017 et seulement 58% en 2022. La baisse représente quand même un quart des suffrages exprimés. Presque partout en Occident, un même phénomène s’observe : les digues ne s’effondrent pas toujours, mais ne cessent de s’affaiblir. Dans un contexte de marasme économique et de questionnement identitaire dans un monde plus que jamais changeant, pourquoi sommes-nous en train de reproduire les erreurs du passé ? Différentes explications ont été apportées. L’une, parmi les plus classiques et que l’auteur partageait il y a peu, est la peur — peur de l’immigration ou du déclassement économique. Pour le politologue et professeur à Sciences Po Martial Foucault, dont l’interview joue un rôle central dans la rédaction de cet article, ce n’est pas la peur mais la colère qui explique ce vote. Un ouvrage, Les origines du populisme, appuie notamment cette thèse. Dans différents pays occidentaux, les enquêtes sont formelles : le principal déterminant du vote pour les partis extrémistes est la colère. Simplement, la colère se marie avec une confiance élevée pour les électeurs d’extrême-gauche alors que cette colère s’allie avec une forte méfiance pour les électeurs d’extrême-droite. La question du déclencheur du vote pour l’extrême-droite n’est pourtant pas résolue. Si la colère est corrélée, est-elle pour autant la cause du vote ? N’y a-t-il pas une variable cachée échappant aux enquêtes statistiques ? Et si effectivement c’est la colère qui entraîne le vote, la question est de savoir ce qui déclenche cette colère. Lorsque l’on ne dispose pas de preuves empiriques de ce que l’on affirme, l’appel au bon-sens est souvent utile. Ce dernier permet de trancher la question : oui c’est évidemment la colère qui cause le vote pour l’extrême-droite car cette dernière propose un programme, justement, colérique. En colère contre la mondialisation, contre l’immigration, contre l’Europe, contre les “élites”... Mais de quoi naît cette colère ? Pour répondre, revenons à la citation du vénérable Maître Yoda “La peur mène à la colère”. Effectivement, il est raisonnable de considérer que la peur contient les germes de la colère. Si les étrangers ou la mondialisation sont la source de tant de colère, c’est avant tout car ils provoquent de la peur. Les “étrangers”, la “mondialisation”, c’est au fond très flou, très impersonnel, très inconnu. Et l’inconnu effraie. On nous objectera que nous ne faisons que déplacer la focale analytique sans répondre clairement à la question. D’accord, l’ignorance d’une chose mène à sa crainte, et la crainte constitue le lit de la colère. Mais on ne peut pas affirmer que c’est l'ignorance qui explique le vote pour l’extrême-droite. À moins d’affirmer que les sociétés occidentales sont frappées par une nouvelle épidémie d’ignorance, l’idée ne fait sens. Finalement, l’essence du vote pour l’extrême-droite, si elle existe, demeure insaisissable. Mais son fruit reste connu, car la colère mène à la haine qui, elle-même, mène à la souffrance. Nous remercions notre professeur de sciences politiques, Martial Foucault pour ses précieuses analyses sur la question du vote pour l’extrême-droite qui ont permis de nourrir cet article et à l’auteur d’affiner son opinion.

Des salles de bals étincelantes de Bridgerton à l'aesthetic Regency Core sur les réseaux sociaux, la génération Z semble obnubilée par une période qu’elle n’a jamais vécu. Comment peut-on expliquer cette fascination pour un monde vieux de deux siècles ? < Back Nostalgie historique et la génération Z: liaisons dangereuses ? Elsa Uzan November 13, 2025 Des salles de bals étincelantes de Bridgerton à l'aesthetic Regency Core sur les réseaux sociaux, la génération Z semble obnubilée par une période qu’elle n’a jamais vécu. Comment peut-on expliquer cette fascination pour un monde vieux de deux siècles ? Cet attrait pour le passé est bien plus qu’un engouement esthétique car il s’inscrit dans un phénomène plus profond, celui de la nostalgie historique. Ce concept désigne une nostalgie éprouvée de la personne interrogée vis-à-vis d’une période qu’elle n’a pas vécue voire d’une période antérieure à sa naissance. Selon Chris Marchegiani et Ian Phau, cette forme de nostalgie ne repose pas sur une expérience individuelle et directe du passé, mais plutôt sur une représentation collective de celui-ci, puisque les personnes ne l'ont pas vécue et se créent leur propre vision — parfois idéalisée — du passé. En effet, la connaissance de ces périodes provient de récits, d’images ou de discours socialement transmis, ce qui explique le caractère collectif de cette mémoire. Ainsi, le phénomène relève davantage d’une mémoire partagée, transmise voire même construite par la société moderne. Mais cette transmission du passé n’est pas passive: elle s’accompagne du phénomène plus contemporain de la « nostalgie simulée » qui en est une forme plus médiatisée. Théorisé également par les deux auteurs, il désigne la construction et la mise en scène d’un événement auquel on attribue – notamment à travers la publicité – une signification symbolique en y associant des objets censés l’incarner, alors même que la personne ne l’a pas vécu. Cette nostalgie historique 2.0 trouve un terrain d’expression privilégié dans le monde numérique. C’est ce que soulignent Huanshu Jiang Jie Yao Peiyao Cheng et Shumeng Hu, chercheurs à l’Institut de technologie de Harbin à Shenzhen, en démontrant que la génération Z se distingue par son inclination à se plonger dans des mondes virtuels qui s’explique par le fait qu’elle a grandi avec Internet et les écrans. Dans ce contexte, les interactions contemporaines entre une vision du passé et le rapport au numérique favorisent à la fois une circulation et une réappropriation des références nostalgiques. On peut ainsi observer l’expression d’une instrumentalisation du phénomène de la nostalgie historique par les entreprises comme un outil de stratégie marketing. En effet, l’étude des chercheurs à l’Institut de technologie de Harbin à Shenzhen a montré que les Générations Y, Z et alpha (nées entre 1981 et 2024) ont tendance à considérer les marques et toute forme de designs mobilisant de la nostalgie comme authentiques, crédibles et expressifs, créant une distance par rapport aux produits modernes qui sont considérés comme factices. Cependant, penser la nostalgie historique comme une stratégie marketing serait réducteur. En effet, la génération Z ne se borne pas à copier les styles anciens ou à romantiser le passé, mais elle va construire une réflexion renouvelée sur des objets d’une époque particulière, sur des événements et des symboles du passé pour développer ses outils propres d’expression personnelle entre autres par le biais des réseaux sociaux. Cela traduit de manière plus significative comment la génération Z renouvelle les interactions avec le passé dans l’optique de répondre à leurs besoins psychologiques de stabilité et d’épanouissement personnel selon les observations de Clay Routledge and Nicola Avis. Il s’agit aussi de relever les défis contemporains en s’inspirant du passé. La valeur des expériences plus lentes et manuelles du passé s’en trouvent d’autant plus valorisées que selon une étude du Human Flourishing Lab , 60% de la génération Z aux Etats-Unis aimerait revenir à une période où tout le monde n’est pas connecté, dans un monde avant l’invention des réseaux sociaux et d’Internet. Réduire ce rapport au passé à une stratégie commerciale reviendrait à nier sa dimension réflexive. La romanticisation reste en effet une caractéristique essentielle de la nostalgie historique. La création de nombreuses séries en témoigne, que ce soit sur la régence anglaise avec la série Bridgerton , ou sur la fin du XIXème siècle et le début du XXème siècle avec The Gilded Age ou Downton Abbey . Ces séries et particulièrement Bridgerton sont selon Sharmini Kumar l’illustration d’un pur fantasme d’évasion, visible notamment par les nombreux bals plus exubérants les uns que les autres. Les robes en style régence changeant à chaque évènement traduisent une vision d’âge d’or de la société anglaise. De plus, à chaque apparition de la reine Charlotte, le spectateur découvre une perruque différente, parmi lesquelles une volière ou encore une avec un étang et un cygne en mouvement. Ces facettes de la série montrent une image de prospérité et de luxe de la Régence. Toutefois, Bridgerton néglige la réalité criante de l’industrialisation et surtout par une pauvreté importante de la population urbaine qui n’est ni montrée, ni mentionnée dans la série. Par la romanticisation, le passé devient un univers séduisant et accessible où le spectateur projette ses désirs personnels d’appartenance et d'évasion. L’idée d’évasion associée à Bridgerton est renforcée par la manière dont l’inclusivité culturelle remodèle les représentations historiques et, par extension, la nostalgie historique. La série présente en effet plusieurs inexactitudes historiques, particulièrement du point de vue de la représentation de la culture indienne. La langue utilisée dans le programme est erronée et conduit à des ambiguïtés. Les termes « Didi », « Bon » et « Appa » traduisent une vision superficielle de la culture indienne car ils appartiennent à des langues et des régions différentes. Cette simplification de la diversité culturelle indienne et la confusion entre des expressions linguistiques et régionales peut être nocive. En effet, cette représentation imprègne la génération Z d’une image erronée car trop largement simplifiée, malgré le caractère divertissant du programme. Cette vision euro-centrée représente ainsi un danger dans le sens où elle peut pérenniser de telles représentations dans la société à l’échelle mondiale, vu le succès retentissant de la série. Bridgerton met en avant la diversité comme argument marketing, à travers une représentation faussement authentique. Plus récemment, de nouveaux phénomènes sont identifiés par les chercheurs, au-delà de la nostalgie « simulée ». Parmi eux, la notion de « méta-nostalgie », théorisée par Clay Routledge et Nicola Avis, désigne un intérêt des jeunes pour les expériences nostalgiques des générations antérieures qu’ils réinterprètent. C’est ainsi que naît un dialogue intergénérationnel qui s'appuie sur des repères culturels communs à ces générations. Ainsi, la nostalgie historique révèle bien plus qu’un goût esthétique de la génération Z: elle s’inscrit dans une recherche de sens et de stabilité dans un monde fragmenté. L’avenir du phénomène demeure toutefois incertain puisque la quantité considérable d’informations disponibles interroge : aurons-nous toujours le temps de penser le passé – surtout celui que l’on n’a pas vécu ? C’est peut-être là tout le paradoxe de la nostalgie historique: dans un monde saturé d’informations, elle devient l’incarnation d’une forme moderne de rébellion, de refus de la surinformation.

Earlier this month, notifications from Instagram and Facebook Messenger about an incident at Le Havre flooded the phone of every student at the Sciences Po Paris campus of Menton. In the middle of finals week, students were busy discussing the mistreatment of a fellow student by the Le Havre administration. < Back Le Havre’s Administrative Scandal: Student Disillusionment Transcends the Boundaries of Sciences Po Paris’ Different Campuses. By Celeste Abourjeili December 30, 2021 Note from the Editor: The Menton Times and the general Menton student body stands in solidarity with the campus of Le Havre and all those affected. We remain open and available for any action required on behalf of our campus to help. Earlier this month, notifications from Instagram and Facebook Messenger about an incident at Le Havre flooded the phone of every student at the Sciences Po Paris campus of Menton. In the middle of finals week, students were busy discussing the mistreatment of a fellow student by the Le Havre administration. While complaints of administrative failures are common to all campuses of our esteemed institution, very rarely do they transcend the borders of our respective campuses. This time was different. This time was drastic, and it is clear that students have had enough. It all started on December 5, 2021. A student residing in the Centre Régional des Œuvres Universitaires et Scolaires (CROUS) campus housing, who has since resigned from Sciences Po Paris, was violently and physically attacked just outside his public, state-subsidized residence. He reached out to his administration for help and was met with disinterest and exasperation. In a later email from the campus director Catherine Droszewski to another administrator, which was accidentally forwarded to the student himself, she responded sarcastically to an email from his parents “sympa, le mail des parents!” (meaning, “nice, the email of the parents!”). The student was not only ignored by administrators but met with mockery. Additionally, the Bureau des Élèves (BDE) of Le Havre was tasked with taking care of the student. Let me re-emphasize this matter: elected student representatives were told they were responsible for meeting the medical, psychological, and logistical needs of a student who had been brutally attacked, all in the middle of finals week. We received a comment from the Menton BDE President Ada Baser, who said that she was “heartbroken at the situation in Le Havre.” She indicated that she has contacted the Le Havre BDE and offered to stand with them as members of the same extended student body. She further commented on the role and expectation placed on the BDE at Le Havre. “I think that the BDE stepping up in this situation is applaudable for the support and effort they put into helping the student. However, such a responsibility should not be up to students themselves to solve, as that kind of a burden on young adults does not foster a healthy student environment for anyone,” she said. “The role of the BDE in the very rules of the organization is to provide links between the administration and the students. In line with that, I think it is in part the responsibility of the BDE to aid their fellow classmates, but not the extent that we saw in Le Havre,” said Baser. This idea — that the administration needs to start caring about our well-being outside of academic matters and the university setting — is a central part of student concern. The director of the Menton campus, Yasmina Touaibia, did not respond to our request for comment. Our Le Havre counterpart, “Le Dragon Déchaîné,” has done the service of publishing the written version (full version accessible here ) of the letter read by students at the General Assembly which followed this scandal. The letter is a collection of points that was produced from a discussion of more than 160 Le Havre students, and we have summarized the main points expressed by the students here: Disgust towards the indifference of the director, who, in addition to her sarcastic exchanges with other members of the administration, downplayed the severity of what happened, citing the fact that the student was “not killed in the event.” Disappointment at the lack of assistance for international students who, in addition to facing a language barrier, face a “hostile bureaucratized administrative apparatus both inside and outside the campus microcosm.” They assert that the administration, it seems, is unwilling to take on the responsibility of recognizing and assisting international students’ special needs. “No effective support, neither institutional nor emotional, was provided” in this case — the student was left helpless while the institution looked the other way and maintained an overly “sarcastic and disrespectful attitude.” The BDE and other associations were expected to take on the needs and grievances expressed by students, leaving those students with little support. “We cannot reasonably expect them to be accountable for the protection of the students in the city. That is not something they have been trained to do… the incompetence of the administration has ultimately burdened our associations and health ambassadors with additional responsibilities on top of their day-to-day duties.” This is not an isolated incident, but a pattern of behavior on behalf of the administration. Similar incidents of administrative indifference and contradiction, for instance, one student was refused time off or an excused absence after suffering a concussion and was forced to attend class. Fellow students and the teacher had to help them walk home, and Ms. Droszewski responded to this situation in a condescending manner, stating that the student should have stayed home (even though the student had deliberately not been excused from class). The message from the administration was perceived to be that “whatever happens outside of our campus walls is not the responsibility of the administration. They tell us, ‘we are not your parents.’” Towards the end of the letter, the students sorted their grievances into five categories: (1) lack of empathy on behalf of the administration; (2) mutual trust and responsibility; (3) pedagogical failures; (4) lack of medical support; (5) lack of support for international students. They further listed their demands as follows: (1) administrative recognition of wrongdoing and formal justification for their actions; (2) transparency, accountability, and support for future incidents; (3) create a position within the administration for international students; (4) address academic short-comings. Finally, the listed actions that the student body is willing to pursue to see actual change: (1) make the administration in Paris aware of the lack of systematic support and procedures in Le Havre; (2) extend this cause to the other Sciences Po undergraduate campuses. While we have not yet been asked to take action with the other campuses as a part of a Sciences Po-wide movement, many members of our Mentonese ummah seem ready to do more. There is already a Google form circulating by Mentonese 2A Basile Rochet to collect students’ thoughts and feedback on the administration across campuses. (If you are a Sciences Po student who has not filled out the form yet, contact Rochet for more information on how to do so). On a Messenger group chat for Menton, one student said, “honestly I think it’s time the students actually start protesting the incompetence of the admin[istration]… it could’ve been any of us and [the] Menton admin[istration] wouldn’t do sh*t. This needs to change.” These complaints are not new, either. I published a controversial article nearly one year ago in the campus journal, “Le Zadig,” expressing a variety of complaints put forth by students about the Menton administration. In fact, when I had asked for opinions on the administration, my inbox was flooded with messages, not one of them positive. Mentonese students felt similar to those at Le Havre about having to fill the gaps left by administrators, and they were especially fed up with the pedagogical failures. The article also touched on the lack of medical support with regards to COVID-19 (in fact, until March of 2021, the campus’ COVID response was entirely run by the Social Service Pole of the BDE). The article is a product of the anecdotes and testimonies that I received. Although members of the administration had either declined to comment or failed to respond to my request for comment, one administrator contacted me personally several times requesting that I take down her name from my article. At one point, she even linked my article in an email chain CC'd with the entire administration concerning problems with my account access. She wrote, “We are all sure about your investment and how much you care about your studies at Sciences Po. You also expressed and share[d] your opinion on the blog recently: [attached link].” We received a comment from “Le Dragon Déchaîné” that “the general mood of the campus has rather simmered down for the moment, mostly due to finals and later the beginning of winter break. It is also partly attributable to the fact that the campus struggled to channel the original motivation into concrete, collective measures or demands from the Paris administration.” Besides the letter and a few signs of protest, no other forms of demand had taken place. Director Catherine Droszewski “wrote an email to the students in response to the letter which very briefly mentioned her intention of having further dialogue with the students, but nothing else of substance.” Only time will tell what the future holds for the undergraduate community of Sciences Po Paris, but if one thing is certain, it is that students across campuses are running out of patience with the remiss administration.

The words we use matter. As students on a multilingual campus, I am sure we can agree on that fact; simple turns of phrase or article choices evoke different meanings and change the essence of a sentence, a paragraph, or even an entire narrative. In everyday conversation, we may retain critical elements by inferring or safely assuming intention in communication, but when it comes to political discourse, the stakes are much higher.  < Back Know Your Vocab: Words We Get Wrong When Talking about Israel and Palestine By Maia Zasler November 30, 2023 The words we use matter. As students on a multilingual campus, I am sure we can agree on that fact; simple turns of phrase or article choices evoke different meanings and change the essence of a sentence, a paragraph, or even an entire narrative. In everyday conversation, we may retain critical elements by inferring or safely assuming intention in communication, but when it comes to political discourse, the stakes are much higher. The issue of word choice is particularly significant in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Word association and labels may exacerbate existing divides, cultivating a hostile environment where discussion often quickly escalates or shuts down. How can a path forward emerge if most dialogue automatically sparks intractable positions and potential violence? To brush off semantics, to say that language use is the least of our worries when it comes to geopolitical or humanitarian crises, risks conflating provocative and misappropriated terminology with an already tragic reality. Particularly with facts that are weighty and volatile, the misuse or misapplication of language creates a divide that does everyone a disservice. This article will define and contextualize the use of the term “genocide” as only one example as it relates to the breakdown of discourse surrounding Israel and Palestine. This analysis is by no means intended to justify or excuse actions of one “side” or another; rather, it is aimed at fostering a future that includes productive discussion, allows for the recognition of history, of multi-faceted narratives, and provokes meaningful reflection as to how we approach activism. Genocide : Methodical destruction of a human group. “genos” (“race”/”tribe”) + “cide” (killing”) Genocide is a legal term. It was originally coined in 1944 by Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin to describe the atrocities facilitated by Nazi Germany. The intention in legal jargon—and in reference to both foreign policy and humanitarian concerns—was to “ denote a crime so terrible that it could not be confused with any other. ” Yet, in the 21st century, there seems to be little care taken with its use; the term is acutely pronounced in the conversations relating to Israel and Palestine. The United Nations’ 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide document offers the precise, “operating” definition of genocide in Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Israel has enacted clauses (a) and (b) (as any other large scale act of war would entail). However, they have not—and have no stated intent of—committing clauses (c), (d), and (e). Furthermore, as it concerns clause (c), there are allegations that certain factions of the Israeli population and/or the Israeli government warrant the particular charge. One can point to Israeli policies that deny Palestinians access to natural resources—a deprivation of water sources, for example—as a means of generating “conditions of life calculated to bring about its [the group's] physical destruction in whole or in part”]. Yet, it remains difficult to defend the application of this clause. The use of the word “deliberately” implies a subjective threshold. To reference the case of water policy, one must look to the lasting impacts of the Oslo Accords (1993)—which allowed Israel “ overwhelming control of the occupied West Bank's aquifers ”—and to the greater context in the following decades: a climate crisis that has put further stresses on already limited resources combined with a growing Palestinian population in need of more of those same resources. Therefore, this ostensible rendering of poor living conditions speaks more to discriminatory policy exacerbated by rising political extremism rather than an actual doctrine of genocide against Palestinians influencing Israeli action. The suffering of Palestinians in Gaza due to Israeli missile strikes is appalling and heartbreaking, in every case. Several legitimate arguments may be put forth challenging the Israeli government’s position that they make every effort to minimize senseless loss of civilian life. In relation to the ongoing war spurred by Hamas’ attacks of October 7, one might question the Israeli government’s true intent in shutting off electricity and water in Gaza and its effectiveness as a bargaining chip to pressure Hamas into returning the over 200 Israeli and other foreign citizen hostages. Regardless, these points do not mean that Israel is committing genocide. The October 7 horrors signified terrible terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israeli citizens. The attacks were accompanied by videos of the atrocities committed, notes left on murdered persons saying “Death to Jews,” and public declarations by a Hamas leader stating they would do October 7 over again. These actions alone do not necessitate the employment of the term “genocide.” But, they were arguably committed with genocidal intent. Hamas as a political and militant entity has a history of concrete, written reference to demonstrated genocidal goals: first, with their 1988 charter—a document made easily accessible to the public through robust translation and publication—calling for the destruction of Jewish people ( ' The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: 'O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him. ' [Article 7] ), and then with their rebranding in 2017, more specifically referencing the liberation of Palestinians from the “colonial Zionist project” of Israel (‘ Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion .’). By nature of documentation, it is admittedly easier to point to genocidal intent. Paired with ongoing rhetoric by Hamas officials, there is little room for interpretation of the organization’s long term plan: attempting to trigger a disproportionate Israeli military response as to derail normalization with surrounding Arab nations and to “overthrow” the status quo (with a willingness to inflict further suffering and burden on the Palestinian people as a means to an end). The existence of Hamas should not, by any means, condemn the Palestinians in Gaza to collective punishment, nor should it justify sometimes fatal violence committed by Israel settlers in the West Bank. It should not give reason for dehumanizing language, even in reference to designated terrorists. What it should indicate—specifically for the international community—is a conflict muddied by multiple elements and motivations. It should stimulate awareness and critical thinking. Using the term “genocide” in any of the ways described above accomplishes little (or nothing ) in building a more stable future. However, it is extremely successful in fueling further political divides within the global community and inciting rage and violence, painting one side as “good” and the other “evil.” It isolates Israelis while simultaneously fueling a seemingly global antisemitism, emboldening the existing far-right extremists and settlers in the occupied West Bank. Additionally, it fragments rule of law and harms minorities who are targets of true genocide.

Throughout my first year, I had barely missed home, and now I was aching to walk along streets so familiar to my feet that I could not get lost if I tried, streets so full of memories that they blurred into one comforting blanket of belonging; I wanted to be wrapped up in that certainty again. < Back It Is Good To Go Home By Saoirse Aherne January 31, 2023 Sometime in mid October, I started to experience a feeling I cannot quite explain. It struck me first while I was walking home from a night out along a narrow and quiet cobblestone street in Menton. It was a full-body feeling, a longing to experience the same quiet and softness of night, but on a street right by the house in which I grew up. I pictured myself there, trudging through slush, watching snowflakes catch in the staggered beams of street lamps. I was not remembering any night in particular– I had walked this path more times than I could count– I was simply remembering being in that place. Throughout my first year, I had barely missed home, and now I was aching to walk along streets so familiar to my feet that I could not get lost if I tried, streets so full of memories that they blurred into one comforting blanket of belonging; I wanted to be wrapped up in that certainty again. By December I was desperately excited to return home. I am from a place that feels even smaller than it is. Gray and run down, it wilts in the glow of Menton’s beauty. But I love it for that. Peterborough, Ontario is unassuming and humble in such a way that I want to wrap my arms around it, either to protect it, or maybe in sympathy. Once I arrived home, I spent an embarrassing amount of time at the one local bar frequented by young people. On my first night there I met: six girls from my high school, two girls from my soccer team, a girl I know from community theater, two girls I went to daycare with, a girl who lives on my street and my ex-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. Perhaps this is the case with every small town, but it is truly impossible to go anywhere in Peterborough without seeing someone you know. Some people hate it; when I lived there I certainly did. But now, I find it thrilling. I feel like my whole life is bottled up in “The Social” bar on a Friday night. I adore overly intense drunken reunions with people from the past, shouting over terrible music about school, jobs, growing up. Every time I go out, I meet a new set of friends that I forgot I missed. It reminds me of how many wonderful people I have had the pleasure to know, and it warms my heart to see them remember me as well. I feel like I fit right into a hole that was made for me, in this tapestry of hometown individuals. Peterborough used to trap me in a suffocating network of relationships, but now that I have left, settling back into this cradle is relieving and safe. I do not have to question whether these people like me or whether I will know them in 10 or 20 years. We don’t have to be close, but we will always be bound by the place in which we grew up. They are as inherent to me as Monaghan Road, Jackson’s Park, the London Street Bridge or Little Lake. When I walk around Peterborough, every setting sparks a flood of memories. It is so much deeper than concrete and bricks, a place more complex than anywhere in the world to me. I peel away layers and layers of life as I walk to and from my house; shockingly, so little has changed since I was a child. People and places — seeing how impermanent these things can be has made home so special. I do not regret leaving Peterborough for a second. I remember how desperately I wanted to get out, and in fact, almost all of my friends have left to study across the province. But I am glad I now see so much beauty in a town I used to resent. My friends and I have talked a lot about this in the past few weeks; leaving has made us all certain of our attachment to home. In Menton, life is in flux; we sentence ourselves to make wonderful friends only to disperse across the globe after two short years. I have spent my 2A feeling random. I loved that novel feeling in the first year, but it gets tiring. Now, rejuvenated by my time at home, feeling so perfectly known and so unwaveringly attached to my town and its people, I am ready to be untethered again.

For Iran it was an illegal assassination of a national hero; For the United States a justified pre-emptive attack on a terrorist. For the millions of civilians who reside within the Gulf region, it meant fear of what could be a death sentence by two powerful states in their unending quest for hegemony. < Back Iran and the United States: Fighting for Hegemony at the Cost of Civilian Lives By Emilia Kohlmeyer January 30, 2022 For Iran it was an illegal assassination of a national hero; For the United States a justified pre-emptive attack on a terrorist. For the millions of civilians who reside within the Gulf region, it meant fear of what could be a death sentence by two powerful states in their unending quest for hegemony. For the international community, it is a painful reminder of its continuous failure to uphold international law. January 3 marked the two-year anniversary of the US-led assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani was commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and on a diplomatic mission in Baghdad when he was killed by a US drone strike on the 3rd January 2020. This triggered counter strikes by Iranian forces on US bases in Iraq, injuring thousands of military staff. In Iran, thousands of mourners have marched in protest to what their government deems as “military adventurism”or reckless military strategies by the United States within the region. This is accompanied by Iraqi demands for the final withdrawal of US forces from their territory. The States legally justified the strike as anticipatory self-defense, however it was immediately disputed that the danger Soleimani represented was “instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment of deliberation.” They failed to provide concrete evidence of an imminent threat, in effect failing to justify the principle of self-defense. The United Nations special rapporteur for investigating extrajudicial and summary executions, Agnes Callamard, concluded, “Even at the most basic level, the U.S. did not demonstrate that striking Suleimani was ‘necessary.’” Furthermore, Iraq did not consent to the strike; therefore it concretely violated its sovereignty. Two years later, Iran’s continuous calls for action to the United Nations and Interpol sanctions on those responsible remain unanswered. International law should exist to provide a set of rules by which everyone is required to abide, despite one’s power or influence. It sets the basis for equality amongst states and their people, which is the foundation of conflict-resolution between multiple parties. When there is no consequence to the violation of said law for states which are considerably more powerful, international law fails to address its entire purpose:equal accountability. The assassination of Qasem Soleimani therefore set a dangerous precedent, highlighting that if powerful states such as the U.S. desire to bend the law according to their interests, they face no consequences. Why should other states therefore abide by the law at all? It could neither be considered fair nor necessary. This neglect of an accepted set of rules can endanger millions of civilian lives. In this particular instance, with the increasingly downright insulting rhetoric of both Iran and the States towards each other, armed conflict did not seem unlikely. Maybe Iraq would once again become the playground of the powerful – after all, strikes from both sides took place there. The ones who bear the burden of transgression from either side are innocent civilians, who are not even citizens of the perpetrating countries. They would share the same fate as Syrians, whose home is subject to a pissing contest between powerful states. The dangerous consequences of this fight for regional hegemony indicate that the current global mechanisms which are in place to protect civilians have failed to fulfill their duty. The pick-and-choose of which nation receives sanctions for its actions continues to allow a disproportionate exercise of power — often by countries that do not even lay within the region they seek to control. The guise of spreading human rights and global peace by such states can no longer serve as justification for foreign intervention. The international community cannot continue to accept it as such. Therefore, it is of increasing importance to hold officials of our own countries — and the organizations in which they participate – accountable. For too long this region has been a playground for the powerful at the expense of innocent lives. Two years have passed, and I am back in Qatar sitting in conversation with friends who have seen their homes fall victim to this power play. With the turbulence of COVID-19, many people abroad have forgotten how January 2020 felt. But we still live between 11,000 U.S. troops on the Al-Udeid base mere kilometers from our homes and our neighbor Iran, separated by a flight less than an hour. We joke about the time there was almost a war, but entrenched in our subconscious is the knowledge that any diplomatic misstep can claim our next home.

The extreme right was never a force to be reckoned with in the history of France and only in the last decade did it become an actual threat to democracy and the well-being of the state. There are resemblances from the past to today’s situation, especially to the interwar period when such tendencies had an important sway. < Back The Extreme Right in France: Comeback or Novelty? Amer El-Ibrahim September 30, 2024 The rise of the extreme right in Europe is a subject that is ubiquitous in today’s conversations. We only think of its present popularity when it comes to our minds, but what about its history and its implication in today’s affairs? The results of the recent elections in France have made it clear that the right is now a force to be reckoned with, but was it always like this? First of all, the notions of the political “left” and “right” stem from the French Revolution, when, in the former National Assembly, people who were loyal to the crown sat on the right, while people who supported the revolution sat on the left. The right came to be recognised as wanting order above progress, supporting traditional institutions such as the family and the church and usually enforcing a strict social hierarchy. Meanwhile, the left was seen as being the exact opposite of the right, wanting change and reforms, from the political to the religious and social spheres. However, the extreme right in France did not appear until much later, tracing its origins back to the period of The Third Republic, when the country suffered terrible financial and territorial losses as a result of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. In times of despair and crises such as the defeat in front of the Germans, a hurt national sentiment is as likely an outcome as is hunger and alienation. This was observed when the victorious party took Lorraine and Alsace; people became polarized and were pushed to one political spectrum or the other. The Dreyfus Affair of 1894, when a Jewish officer named Alfred Dreyfus was accused of treason on false chargers much motivated by his ethnicity, crystallized the extreme right as a force. Until this event, French nationalism was seen as a part of the left, specifically as liberal nationalism, but during this affair nationalism was integrated into the far-right sphere, evolving into ethnic nationalism and blending with xenophobia and anti-Semitism. An important figure of the right was Charles Maurras, founder of integralism—a concept which stipulated that Catholic thought should be at the core of the state—who joined the small monarchist Action Francaise in 1898 He was the spiritual architect of this party and transformed it into a beacon of the extreme right by postulating his idea of integralism and by embedding in it a nationalism that bordered on xenophobia,anti-Semitism, anti-parliamentarian views and hatred towards the Republic. The Action Francaise was a forerunner of the right in France and the most relevant extreme right party that resulted from the Dreyfus affair. Its popularity reached its height during the interwar period when a number of extreme right parties made their appearance, prompted by the general rise of fascism in neighboring Germany and Italy. One of them was the Jeunesses Patriotes, founded by the multi-millionaire Taittinger. Another one was the Croix-de-Feu, originally an association for veterans decorated with the “fire-cross”, became nationalist and anti-parliamentary leanings during the leadership of Colonel La Rocque. However, both failed as parties mainly because of the lack of revolutionary spirit, being the armed hand of the bourgeois order rather than projecting a new one. The Faisceau was the first movement that was inspired by the Italian fascist party. The party was founded by Maurras’s former right hand, George Valois, who developed a strong leaning towards fascism, along with anti-bourgeois and prone to violent stances. Valois’s inflammatory rhetoric soon isolated the party and threw it into anonymity. The last generation of the right-extremists of the interwar period developed at the end of the thirties and is characterized by Jack Doriot’s Parti Populaire Francais (PPF) and Marcel Deat’s Rassemblement National Populaire. These parties were different from the others of their sort because the national question was not the founding basis of the parties, the social part and the idea of a new corporatist society being their main preoccupations. Additionally, their short-lived success was due to the fact that both leaders were affiliated in the past with left-wing organizations, subsequently rallying the working class into their movement. Nonetheless, the variety of the extreme right during the interwar period does not prove a propensity of people towards this spectrum, rather it showcases the generally anti-democratic values and attitudes of the citizens as anti-parliamentarism was very popular throughout the period. Although the right press and the ideas it diffused were widely popular, the parties’ electoral fortunes dwindled, so they were not able to take power. However, the establishment of the Vichy regime led by Marshal Petain after the May defeat in 1940 was the synthesis of varied branches of the extreme right, from Maurassians to fascists, which did not express themselves in plenitude during the 1930s. The main philosophy of this regime could be summed up by the triad “work, family, country” and it consisted of accentuated nationalism, the refusal of individualism and egalitarianism, as well as the search for national unity, the rejection of cultural freedom and an anti-intellectual sentiment. Nevertheless, this regime was not just a regular puppet state controlled by the Germans, rather it was a long-awaited opportunity to implement a national revolution that would cleanse France of the decay that parliamentarism had brought. In the years following the war, the extreme right had to deal with the legacy the Vichy regime left, which was not favorable to them. The most important extreme right movement of the Fourth Republic was the Jeune Nation, which was the first organization that branded itself as neo-fascist. Its success can be traced to the fact that it purified itself of Petainiste views, but it was limited mostly to students rather than the masses and was dissolved by the authorities in 1958 for agitation for violent actions. The transition to the Fifth Republic and the Gaullist regime stifled the extreme right even more, which would plunge into marginality for the next 20 years. Born from the student revolts of May 1968, the Ordre Nouveau (ON) was the major extreme right organization in the 70s. It emphasized anti-communism and anti-immigration, contesting initially the electoral system, but later creating a legitimate political party that ran for elections called the Front National (FN). The movement exploited the nostalgia for the Vichy Regime embodied by Catholic fundamentalists, integralists and other remnants of interwar extreme-right parties. The spirit of the party was concentrated on anti-communism, nationalism, anti-immigration, a strong state and defense of traditional values. Jean Marie Le Pen, founder of the party and its leader until 2011, opposed the fascist leanings of the ON members of the party and emphasized the need for the party to remain legal. This conflict inside the party resulted in the ON leaving, thus offering space for other closeted right extremists. Other parties resulted from this split, but they remained completely marginal. From the 1970s to the present times, the FN remained the main extreme right force in France. Its first breakthrough happened in 1983 and after this point, its popularity only grew, but the party never exceeded the 20 percent mark in elections until 2012, when the leadership was moved to Le Pen’s daughter, Marie Le Pen. What one can gather from all of this is that the extreme right was never a force to be reckoned with in the history of France and only in the last decade did it become an actual threat to democracy and the well-being of the state. There are resemblances from the past to today’s situation, especially to the interwar period when such tendencies had an important sway. By focusing mainly on what happened in the last century, I wanted to highlight that such movements leaning towards the extreme right are something recurrent and that the danger of them taking power has always existed. The only difference is that this year they almost won. However, similar to the interwar period, their newfound popularity seems to stem from discontent regarding the current government and state of affairs, and not from an actual conviction in what they postulate. But this remains only an impression and should be regarded with doubt.

At first glance, desalination is the ideal solution to a rapidly developing world. There is certainly no shortage of ocean water — “desalination is simply taking a resource we have an abundance of and turning it into the thing that’s scarce.”; but its environmental impacts are devastating. < Back A Paradigm of Character: The Effect of US Expansion on Desalination Tanks By Marly Fisher American history is defined by movement. The land of the New World was all but promised to its conquerors; Manifest Destiny pandered in whispers to those who settled ever-westward. However, the frontier was more than a paradigm of character — it was the source of American democracy. The border was endless. At the ends of the United States, the frontier acted as a “gate of escape from the bondage of the past.” We, the people, have bent lands and people to our will all in service of growth. Modern-day America has continued this trend of expansion, with one marked difference: instead of conquering new land, they have begun to dominate the water supply. A New York Times investigation has revealed that in much of the United States, “communities and farms are pumping out groundwater at alarming rates. Aquifers are shrinking nationwide, threatening supplies of drinking water and the country’s status as a food superpower.” This issue is especially pronounced in Arizona, where state officials say there is not enough groundwater for housing construction that has already been approved. In search of a way to expand its water supply, Arizona stumbled upon IDE Technologies, an Israeli desalination company. Exactly what it sounds like, desalination is the process of removing salt and other minerals from ocean water. IDE proposed locating the desalination plant at Puerto Peñasco, in Sonora, Mexico. Picture an infinite and uninvited reverse Colorado — a 200 mile pipeline flowing uphill to money. Desalination is becoming common practice in the Middle East as well; according to Études de L’IFRI, "The majority of Gulf countries now largely depend on desalinated water for their inhabitants’ consumption: in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 42% of drinking water comes from desalination plants producing more than 7 million cubic meters (m3) per day, in Kuwait it is 90%, in Oman 86%, and in Saudi Arabia 70%. In 2022, there were more than 21,000 seawater desalination plants in operation worldwide, almost twice as many as a decade ago." At first glance, desalination is the ideal solution to a rapidly developing world. There is certainly no shortage of ocean water — “desalination is simply taking a resource we have an abundance of and turning it into the thing that’s scarce.”; but its environmental impacts are devastating. For every liter of potable water produced, about 1.5 liters of liquid polluted with chlorine and copper are created. When pumped back into the ocean, the toxic brine depletes oxygen and impacts organisms along the food chain. Furthermore, desalination plants in the Middle East have largely benefited from an energy mix based on fossil fuels that permit cheap desalination. When presenting the idea for a tank in Mexico, the IDE promised there would be no negative impact from the ocean brine. They were lying. Arizona’s appeal is the bounty of its desert. Barren wildscape is contrasted with colors of opulence, of hordes of golf courses, pools and suburbia. Before even considering desalination, it is important to maximize alternatives like water conservation, stormwater capture, and recycled water expansion. If the world is trending towards the widespread usage of desalination, two solutions will be required: powering these plants with low-carbon energy sources, such as solar power, wind power,improving water sector governance and encouraging sustainable water use policies in the industrial, agricultural and the residential sectors. Perhaps, nonetheless, we should first attempt to understand why so many countries have found themselves in this dire position in the first place. Why has excessive growth underpinned our economies? Why have we exploited fossil fuel resources? Is this kind of growth inevitable? Is it necessary? The same historical theory that had justified American expansion domestically would guide American imperialism abroad. Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico… even the backing of Ukrainian forces now is guided by the same principle of movement, of ownership. Arizona’s identity of artifice may not be going anywhere, nor will the Middle East’s future of ocean water usage — not if we do not stop to examine the United States’ history of domination.

« C'est dans et par le langage que l’homme se constitue comme sujet » affirme Emile Benveniste, linguiste français d’origine syrienne. Le langage est ainsi ce qui nous permet de nous poser comme sujet parlant. On peut prolonger cette idée: si le langage nous permet de dire « je », il nous permet de nous raconter et de construire notre identité. Dans cette optique, le langage marque l’acte fondateur de notre naissance au monde. < Back “Je parle donc je suis”: la langue, vecteur d’identité ? Elsa Uzan September 16, 2026 « C'est dans et par le langage que l’homme se constitue comme sujet » affirme Emile Benveniste, linguiste français d’origine syrienne. Le langage est ainsi ce qui nous permet de nous poser comme sujet parlant. On peut prolonger cette idée: si le langage nous permet de dire « je », il nous permet de nous raconter et de construire notre identité. Dans cette optique, le langage marque l’acte fondateur de notre naissance au monde. Le langage est une évidence aux yeux de tous, ce qui nous constitue en tant qu’être social. Le fondement de cette idée est exploré dans la pensée philosophique de Rousseau souligne ainsi que la parole est « la première institution sociale ». Le langage, par sa fonction d’expression de la pensée, permet de créer du lien et donc de faire société. Il est avant tout un facteur qui structure la perception que nous avons du monde. C’ est une manière d’identifier l’individu par le langage comme marqueur d’appartenance à un groupe spécifique, particulièrement avec les dialectes. Son apprentissage précoce permet l'intériorisation de normes et intègre l'idée du langage comme quelque chose de naturel. Langue et identité culturelle Les langues étrangères et l’identité offrent toutes deux des manières de se représenter le monde. La langue renvoie à une mise en œuvre concrète du langage alors que celui-ci est, selon Ferdinand de Saussure, la seule capacité à communiquer. Quant à l’identité, elle désigne la manière dont on se présente aux autres et comment on les interprète. Ces deux dimensions sont inextricablement liées, notamment lors de la construction et consolidation d’une nation. Les chansons pakistanaises comme « Sohni Dharti » et « Watan Ki Mitti Gawah Rehna » ont permis de renforcer la fierté nationale en transmettant la tradition littéraire Urdu. Elles ont également affermi le sentiment d'appartenance à l’islam, religion officielle du Pakistan. Les nuances du langage permettent également d’identifier l’appartenance sociale des individus. Les emprunts récents aux langues étrangères en sont un bon exemple : les anglicismes comme « spoiler », « cool », « vintage » ou « deadline » ne sont pas neutres. Ils circulent surtout dans les milieux diplômés et urbains, exposés à l’anglais par les études ou les loisirs. La catégorisation permet de maintenir l’ordre social en définissant des limites entre “membres" du groupe et “étrangers”. Mais cet ordre est fragile : les débats sur l’immigration mettent en lumière les failles d’un système qui peut exclure à certains égards. La linguiste autrichien Ruth Wodak estime que l’exclusion est inhérente à la construction identitaire, qui inclut nécessairement une opposition aux autres. Par exemple, l’utilisation de mots “légaux” facilite consciemment ou non la diabolisation de l’immigration chez les sociétés européennes. Même dans le cas où les journaux recherchent la précision et la vérité, ce sont des plateformes qui allaient mobiliser des significations construites socialement et des connotations des termes véhiculés par leur simple utilisation. Langue et identité personnelle La langue est le vecteur privilégié par lequel les identités culturelles se construisent, s’enrichissent et se perpétuent. Les chercheuses à l’université de Pékin Jing Chen et Chi-Yue Chiu ont proposé dans cette continuité le modèle “Culture-Carrier-Context” pour offrir une explication des résultats des recherches menées pour l’université de finance de Guangdong. La culture, vecteur de diffusion de connaissances, est envisagée dans ce cadre comme un réseau de connaissances produites et diffusées au sein d’un ensemble de personnes interconnectées par le langage. Ce phénomène est particulièrement visible chez les personnes biculturelles qui cherchent à s’adapter aux deux cultures. La biculturalisation permet d’englober différents “moi” et d’endosser de multiples identités sociales. Sylvia Xiaohua Chen observe un changement de personnalité dans un environnement bilingue qui est dû à une modification des comportements, des rôles sociaux et des émotions consécutives au changement de langue. Il s’agit d’un processus non linéaire d'acculturation entre la réserve demandée par le mandarin et l'extraversion de l’anglais. La professeure à l’université de New York Aneta Pavlenko postule que l’incarnation de la langue se fait nécessairement par le biais des émotions. Les natifs perçoivent donc leur langue comme une évidence alors que ceux qui l’apprennent dans un cadre scolaire la ressentent comme artificielle. dont la langue a été acquise avec cette mémoire émotionnelle la perçoivent comme incarnée et naturelle. C’est pour cette raison que les personnes bilingues préfèrent généralement leur langue maternelle, comme le montrent les études Dorota Owczarek, professeure à l’université Adam Mickiewiczv en Pologne. Les personnes bilingues affichent généralement des préférences entre les langues parlées qu’ils choisissent en fonction du contexte. Le langage est un outil de construction identitaire à la fois sociale et culturelle. Toutefois, malgré le fait que le langage soit un facteur de lien social, il peut également ériger des barrières. Dans un monde globalisé ultra connecté, le langage sera amené à se réinventer et à s’adapter aux nouveaux défis. Photo Source: flickr

Face au défi climatique, les Jeux d'hiver italiens transforment les sommets alpins en un territoire où le prestige sportif tente de s'affranchir des limites biologiques du massif.  < Back JO d’hiver de Milan-Cortina : le prestige olympique face à la crise écologique Noémie Tropée-Arbos March 13, 2026 Face au défi climatique, les Jeux d'hiver italiens transforment les sommets alpins en un territoire où le prestige sportif tente de s'affranchir des limites biologiques du massif. Alors que les projecteurs s’éteignent sur les Dolomites, le bilan de Milan-Cortina 2026 laisse une empreinte contrastée dans le paysage alpin. Si l'Italie a tenté d'imposer le laboratoire d'un olympisme « nouvelle génération » plus sobre, les semaines de compétition ont mis à nu une tension irréconciliable entre la sanctuarisation des sommets et les exigences industrielles du sport de haut niveau. Entre la réussite de l'héritage urbain milanais et le traumatisme d’une « montagne éventrée » pour des infrastructures éphémères, cet événement restera le révélateur des contradictions d'une époque où le prestige international se heurte violemment aux limites planétaires. Vers Une Sobriété Structurelle : Le Pari De La Réutilisation Le premier pari de Milan-Cortina a été celui de la « flexibilité » opérationnelle, une réponse directe aux critiques sur le gigantisme des éditions passées. Selon le Comité International Olympique (CIO), cette stratégie marque une rupture nette avec le modèle du « tout-neuf » de Sotchi en 2014, où près de 51 milliards de dollars avaient été investis dans des infrastructures sorties de terre ex nihilo, ou de Pékin en 2022, qui avait nécessité la création d'un pôle de sports d'hiver entier en zone aride. Cette approche ne se limite pas aux infrastructures sportives ; elle s'inscrit dans une logique de régénération urbaine profonde. Le village olympique de Porta Romana, construit sur une ancienne friche ferroviaire milanaise délaissée depuis des décennies, a été conçu dès sa genèse pour combler un déficit social chronique. À l'issue des compétitions, les quartiers des athlètes seront convertis en une résidence universitaire de 1 700 lits , la plus importante du pays. L'objectif est de transformer l'investissement olympique en une solution pérenne contre la précarité immobilière qui frappe la jeunesse italienne. Cette approche de « seconde vie » est soutenue par une stratégie de décarbonation des opérations. En s'appuyant sur des partenaires énergétiques, l'organisation garantit une alimentation 100 % renouvelable pour l'ensemble des sites de compétition. Ce recours aux énergies propres, couplé à une logistique favorisant l'économie circulaire, où le mobilier et les structures temporaires sont loués ou réutilisés, fait de Milan-Cortina un laboratoire du nouvel Agenda Olympique 2020+5, visant des Jeux à impact positif . L’enneigement Artificiel Et Le Défi De La Gestion De L’eau Pourtant, la géographie alpine ne suffit plus à garantir la viabilité des épreuves. En effet, les Alpes ont enregistré une hausse de température de 2,5°C depuis l'ère préindustrielle , contre une moyenne mondiale de 1,1°C à 1,2°C. Cette accélération thermique réduit drastiquement la durée d'enneigement naturel, qui a perdu en moyenne un mois de présence au sol en cinquante ans. Ainsi, malgré des sommets dépassant les 3000 mètres, l'organisation de Milan-Cortina 2026 a dû recourir à une production massive de neige de culture pour couvrir près de 90 % de ses surfaces de compétition . Si Pékin 2022 avait marqué les esprits par l'usage d'une neige 100 % artificielle en zone aride, l'Italie fait face à un défi climatique tout aussi complexe : la gestion d'une ressource en eau de plus en plus rare dans un massif sous tension thermique. Pour maintenir l'épaisseur réglementaire des pistes face à des hivers de plus en plus erratiques, les organisateurs ont déployé une infrastructure industrielle lourde. La production d'un mètre cube de neige nécessite environ 500 litres d'eau, ponctionnés directement dans les réserves collinaires et les nappes phréatiques locales. Selon des experts en hydrologie, ces prélèvements massifs entrent en concurrence directe avec les besoins de l'agriculture de la plaine du Pô, déjà fragilisée par des sécheresses hivernales chroniques. Au-delà de la consommation d'eau, c'est la morphologie même de la montagne qui est altérée de façon irréversible. Pour optimiser l'efficacité des canons à neige, les pistes subissent un terrassement intensif où les reliefs naturels sont rabotés pour permettre une accroche maximale de la neige artificielle. Cette « neige technique », plus dense et abrasive que la neige naturelle, agit comme un isolant thermique inversé, maintenant le sol gelé plus longtemps et perturbant la biodiversité souterraine. Cette transformation change les massifs des Dolomites en une véritable infrastructure technique sous perfusion, où le sport ne dépend plus du climat, mais de la puissance de pompage. Les Infrastructures Olympiques Face Au Droit Environnemental Un des aspects les plus critiques de ces Jeux réside dans l'aménagement physique lourd d'un territoire pourtant classé au patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO. La montagne a été littéralement "éventrée" pour permettre l'élargissement des axes routiers et la construction de parkings géants, nécessaires pour relier des sites de compétition éclatés sur plus de 22 000 km². Cette fragmentation géographique, si elle permet de réutiliser des stades existants, impose paradoxalement une « mise en infrastructure » agressive des vallées alpines. Le cas de la piste de bobsleigh Eugenio Monti à Cortina est devenu le symbole de ce que les militants appellent un « déni d'histoire ». En investissant 81,6 millions d'euros dans la reconstruction d'une infrastructure dont le CIO lui-même avait initialement jugé le coût excessif, l'Italie reproduit les erreurs de Turin 2006. La piste de Cesana Pariol, construite au prix de 110 millions d'euros, gît aujourd'hui à l'état de friche industrielle abandonnée , son coût d'entretien ayant été jugé insupportable. À Cortina, ce choix a nécessité l’abattage de 500 mélèzes centenaires en février 2024. Pour les experts juridiques, ce dossier illustre la fragilité de la protection des écosystèmes : en s'appuyant sur des décrets gouvernementaux d'exception, les chantiers ont pu contourner les études d'impact environnemental classiques. Cette pression sur le territoire a cristallisé une fracture profonde. En février 2026, des milliers d’Italiens ont manifesté à Milan contre ce qu’ils qualifient de « scandale écologique » et social. Entre dénonciation de la vie chère et gentrification du village olympique, la tension est devenue politique : alors que les manifestants fustigeaient un événement déconnecté des réalités, le gouvernement a durci le ton, qualifiant les opposants « d’ennemis de l'Italie ». Ce bras de fer montre comment l'urgence de l'événement a fini par s'affranchir des cadres démocratiques de préservation de la nature et du dialogue citoyen. Des Sponsors À L’encontre Des Enjeux Écologiques Enfin, l'intégrité écologique de l'événement se heurte à la réalité de son modèle économique. Un rapport récent dénonce une contradiction profonde : alors que le CIO prône la durabilité, Milan-Cortina reste largement financé par des géants des énergies fossiles . Si Paris 2024 avait tenté d'écarter certains sponsors polluants, l'édition italienne marque un retour à une dépendance assumée envers les industries carbonées. Ce phénomène, qualifié de « sport washing », permet à des entreprises pétrolières d'associer leur image à la pureté de la montagne, tandis que l'empreinte carbone réelle reste massive. L’exemple du géant énergétique Eni est particulièrement révélateur. Tout en finançant la fourniture d'énergies renouvelables pour les sites de compétition, le groupe continue de développer des projets gaziers et pétroliers à travers le monde. L'essentiel de l'impact climatique, environ 80 % des émissions totales , provient des vols longue distance des spectateurs et d'une logistique complexe. En multipliant les déplacements en hélicoptère pour relier des vallées isolées, l'organisation génère un bilan carbone que les mesures de « compensation » ne parviennent pas à neutraliser. Ce modèle de sponsoring invite à se demander s'il est réellement possible de se revendiquer défenseur de l'environnement tout en acceptant le soutien financier de ceux qui contribuent à sa dégradation. Pour de nombreux observateurs, cette « durabilité de façade » masque l'incapacité du CIO à se réformer réellement, préférant des ajustements techniques marginaux à une remise en question globale du format des Jeux. Milan-Cortina 2026 laisse un héritage assez ambigu. En effet, si la réutilisation intelligente des sites milanais prouve qu’une forme de raison urbaine gagne du terrain, l’industrialisation forcée de la haute altitude et le poids des sponsors fossiles rappellent la puissance des anciens schémas. Alors que le climat impose ses règles avec une brutalité croissante, la survie des Jeux d'hiver ne dépendra peut-être plus de la prouesse technologique, mais de notre capacité à accepter des formats plus sobres, voire décentralisés. La flamme olympique peut-elle encore briller sans consumer la montagne qui l’accueille ? L'expérience italienne suggère que la réponse se trouve dans un changement de regard sur notre rapport au sauvage. Si le format olympique refuse de s’adapter au monde qu’il prétend célébrer, il se condamne à n’être plus qu’une fête dont le prix écologique est devenu supérieur à la valeur du rêve qu’elle propose. Photo Source: Dispe, Wikicommons

Il faut à tout prix entreprendre les efforts visant à sauver la sphère publique pour s’engager lentement, mais sûrement, vers la reconstruction d'un État pour ensuite reconstruire un pays. < Back Liban, la prochaine « République des ONG » ? Christy Ghosn Selon la Banque Mondiale, « la crise économique libanaise représente l’un des dix, voire des trois effondrements économiques les plus graves que le monde ait connus depuis 1850 » . Entre un PIB du pays qui chute , en passant de 52 milliards de dollars en 2019 à seulement 21,8 milliards de dollars en 2021, et une dépréciation de la livre libanaise de 211% par rapport au dollar, la situation libanaise a laissé une grande partie de la population plongée dans la détresse économique, tandis que loin des ruines, dans les bars animés de Gemmayzeh, ou encore aux soirées chics sur les plages de Batroun, une élite privilégiée continuer de baigner dans l’opulence. Le constat est amer: dix pour cent de la population détient plus de 70% des richesses. Cette situation humanitaire n'est pas causée par une guerre ou une catastrophe naturelle, mais bien par l'indifférence de la caste politique corrompue au pouvoir. Dans ce contexte, les donateurs et les ONG jouent un rôle crucial dans la lutte contre les inégalités socio-économiques et la reconstruction du pays suite à l'inefficacité et la défaillance de l’Etat . Cependant, leur omniprésence soulève des questions fondamentales: La délégation totale de la reconstruction libanaise aux ONG constitue-t-elle un scénario viable? Les ONG devraient-elle réellement écarter la classe politique libanaise? Le Liban devrait-il basculer vers une « République des ONG » afin de lutter contre sa crise et l’aggravation de ses inégalités? Des inégalités socio-économiques persistantes… Avec un indice Gini de 50.7 en 2017, le pays se classe parmi les plus inégalitaires au monde en termes de répartition de la richesse ; des inégalités renforcées notamment depuis la crise économique. Ces inégalités s’observent dans de multiples secteurs. Par exemple, la perte de revenus a fortement affecté l’accès à une éducation de qualité et a ainsi anéanti la capacité de nomb reux parents à envoyer leurs enfants dans les écoles de leur choix, en particulier privées. Résultat: les inscriptions dans les écoles publiques sont passées d’environ 30% à 47% à l’échelle nationale en 2018-2019 . Or, la qualité de l’enseignement public est extrêmement faible et les écoles publiques sont au bord de l'effondrement. En 2020, moins de deux pour cent du PIB du pays a été consacré à l’éducation, alors que le minimum recommandé est de quatre à six pour cent. Le cas de l'éducation n’est qu’un ca s parmi tant d’autres; il en est de même pour le secteur de la santé par exemple. Environ 44 % de la population libanaise ne dispose d’aucune forme d’assurance maladie. Des ONG efficaces pour pallier à la défaillance de l’Etat Classé en 2023 au 149e rang sur les 180 pays étudiés par l'indice de perception de la corruption de Transparency International , le Liban a non seulement perdu la confiance de ses citoyens mais aussi celle des bailleurs de fonds inte rnationaux. Comment accorder la reconstruction du Liban à un Etat corrompu, qui profiterait de cette reconstruction pour s’enrichir davantage? Pire encore, comment l’Etat ferait-il pour mener cette reconstruction alors qu’il ne dispose même pas des fonds nécessaires et crou le sous une dette publique qui représentait 181% du PIB en 2021 et 280% du PIB en 2022? L’Etat libanais s’effondre ainsi progressivement…Or, qu'elles soient internationales ou loca les, les ONG sont les seules à intervenir et tenir à bout de bras le pays, noyé dans une crise économique et sociale. Après l’explosion du port de Beyrouth notamment, elles ont joué les tout premiers rôles alors que l’Etat était aux abonnés absents. En effet, les ONG sont souvent obligées de combler les lacunes du secteur public: c’est le cas de Rebirth Beirut, qui, en allumant 105 rues, neuf avenues, quatre places, et deux escaliers, ainsi qu'en rétablissant les feux tricolores , a redonné vie aux quartiers de la capitale libanaise après plusieurs années d'obscurité, et a apporté une solution concrète à un problème crucial. Une solution insuffisante Même si les ONG semblent efficaces pour pallier aux défaillances de l’Etat, force est de constater que leurs actions posent des questions en termes de légitimité et de transparence. En effet, le paysage des ONG au Liban est hétérogène, de nombreuses associations étant directement ou indirectement affiliées à des partis politiques et/ou à des communautés religieuses. Une étude du Beirut Urban Lab a examiné les cas de 135 acteurs locaux et internationaux qui ont participé aux efforts de secours post-explosion. Résultat: 39% d’entre eux ont des affiliations religieuses et/ou politiques, tandis que les 61% restants se définissent comme indépendants. Ces types d’organisations sont ainsi susceptibles de baser la distribution de l’aide sur certains profils au lieu de proposer une aide inclusive. Il est par ailleurs difficile d'étudier la manière dont les dons reçus sont utilisés par les ONG suite au secret bancaire qui empêche toute autorité de vérifier les comptes d'une association. Plus inquiétant encore pour l’avenir: en juin 2021, l’agence de presse Reuters a révélé que sur 1,5 milliard de dollars injectés dans l’humanitaire au Liban en 2020, au moins 250 millions avaient été « avalés » par les banques du pays. Cette disparition est attribuée à la conversion des dollars en livres libanaises par les établissements bancair es, qui auraient appliqué un taux de change peu avantageux par rapport au taux du marché noir, constituant ainsi une perte significative de ressources pour l'aide humanitaire. Dans ce contexte, il est alors clair que le Liban ne peut pas se reposer uniquement sur les ONG pour sa reconstruction. Un partenariat nécessaire entre les ONG et l’Etat libanais Il en découle que l’aide, essentielle des ONG, n'est efficace qu’à court terme. Il s'agit alors de trouver des solutions à moyen et long terme. En effet, à court terme, recevoir l’aide des ONG dans le cadre d’un mécanisme transparent et correctement contrôlé semble être le seul moyen d’apporter une réponse relativement rapide au bénéfice des plus précaires. Cependant, pour la reconstruction et le relèvement à moyen et long terme, il serait nécessaire d'impliquer le gouvernement libanais et d’adopter un cadre de partenariat qui rassemble les différents acteurs pour la création d’un système solide et pérenne. Une quasi-saturation d'ONG au Liban pourrait s'avérer contre-productive car elle dédouane l'État de toutes ses responsabilités. Cette délégation totale des ONG pourrait ainsi saper toute véritable possibilité d'émergence de collectifs politiques capables de prendre leurs affaires en main. Il faut à tout prix entreprendre les efforts visant à sauver la sphère publique pour s’engager lentement, mais sûrement, vers la reconstruction d'un État pour ensuite reconstruire un pays.

To my fellow 2As, I suggest we have the most care free, amazing, and crazy semester yet. To the 1As, I encourage you to take a look at the spirit and culture of this town passed down by many before us, to keep the MENA soul of this student body alive, and to get ready for a party filled semester. < Back Three Down, One to Go: The 2A’s Fear the End of Their Time in Menton By Lilinaz Hakimi January 30, 2022 When 1As ask, “how was it coming back and being a 2A?” The answer differs from one Mentonese SciencesPiste to another. Although we all share a common identity as members of the same tiny campus family, we also have different personal relationships and experiences. Despite this, we all adjust one way or another. The transition from 1A to 2A, from freshman to senior, is so stark and comes as a quick hit that no one can truly prepare for. But this is not the only transition we endured from 1A to 2A. From Zoom to in-person classes, from no association events to three to four a week, and from nothing but house parties to clubbing in Nice and Monaco on the weekends, we are learning alongside 1As, much like our 2As were learning alongside us during the age of COVID. Now a semester has gone by, and as the resilient, overly opinionated, and loud political science students we are, we have adapted and enjoyed some of these changes. Looking back at our third semester in Menton, I would like to bring to light different assessments from 2As I heard throughout the semester, and explore what it may be like to head into our final semester in this beautiful and surreal town. Coming to Menton, we knew we were on borrowed time. Unlike the four years we get in high school, these two years end with the departure of all our peers from this small town. People come and go, but experiences seem forged in one as we pace our tiny town with views that, as many have said before, make us feel like we are on a movie set. Upon entering their second year, some students struggled with the overwhelming nature of running the show. Some contended with the departure of their own 2As. Others tried hard to remind themselves not to take these views for granted. Many others loved and cherished this semester, for the reunions, the in-person education, and, of course, the parties. In the end, I think most would agree that it flew by. What is more worrying is the speed with which this following semester will come and go. It is a common fact that when you are having fun, time escapes you. So now, we are all settled into our new roles, our town in this new light, and have made bonds with our new arrivals. Like 2A Markus Vaher, I hope we all are ready to “have life coursing through our veins for the next half a year.” And as it does, let us take moments to take it all in as each day goes by. This semester, 2As took on associations fearlessly and led in positions they were not trained for. They struggled with what the identity of the Ummah should be, as some traditions were never truly passed down. We dealt with our administration as it attempted to make this transition to having students and events on site. It was all a mess, but one that we endured together through the partying, clubbing, beach meetups, and brunches. A semester of rebuilding our identity on a personal level or exploring new (and old) friendships. Now that we have adapted and the overwhelming nature of becoming a 2A day has subsided, we are left with these beautiful remaining months together. Menton has been the most eye opening and amazing home for the past year and half. Many have their reservations about this place. But I will say I am sure we all have a small dread in our hearts to leave the friends we love so dearly, the community that embraces everyone’s culture so strongly, and a town so beautiful our eyes sometimes need to adjust. So, to my fellow 2As, I suggest we have the most care free, amazing, and crazy semester yet. To the 1As, I encourage you to take a look at the spirit and culture of this town passed down by many before us, to keep the MENA soul of this student body alive, and to get ready for a party filled semester. Below I have written an ode to this town. I hope it sits well with you as we take on one final go in this remarkable reality, we get to call the final semester at this university. And that is enough of me overly romanticizing this little town on the Riviera. An ode to 06500: What defines something as heaven? Is a utopia something we build or live in? What luck have we to come upon the sea? To see a bell tower ring so randomly? Who am I to have such luck? To meet students from every nook and muck? Ummah embraces its new arrivals Year in and year out with its disciples Memories made in rocky beaches and Sablettes sands With an administration that makes us rip our hair into our hands Not enough time to soak up all the perfect imperfections And all the time to criticize and rebuild our affections So 2As hearts quack as we approach the end Knowing our memories will always extend A smile on our faces, a bond we will keep Mentonese know this loss will make us weep From cold to warm, from Jan to May Let's put away the drama, worry and dismay To have a blast every damn day Singing our songs and dancing away Grab your favorite ghalibaya And scream proudly, Mentoniya Mentoniya

Society that carries out capital punishment must think very carefully about the policy’s potential consequences. Taking an innocent person’s life is a grave enough reason to put someone to death, but shouldn’t there be accountability for those who sentence innocent people to the death penalty? < Back Execution in Missouri and the Death Penalty Ema Nevřelová October 31, 2024 My mother grew up in communist Czechoslovakia. She would often tell me the story of her first official act of free will. During the first months of 1990, Amnesty International was collecting signatures to petition for the abolition of the death penalty in the former Czechoslovakia and, at the age of 18, my mother signed it. For my mother, freedom lies in the ability to act and to stand up for what you believe in. In her view, the value of a person’s life is too high to risk the possibility of executing someone innocent—she would feel partially complicit if she did not protest. Three months later, in May 1990, former Czechoslovak President Václav Havel pressured the government and the death penalty was abolished. U.S. citizens have not unilaterally pushed the abolishment of the death penalty; support for capital punishment has historically fluctuated. A recent Gallup poll demonstrated that only 53% of Americans favor the death penalty. In Gallup’s research from 2022, there is an even greater disparity between Democrat and Republican party members: 35% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans were in favor of the death penalty. Unsurprisingly, typically “red” states such as Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, Idaho and many more have the death penalty, although it is not exclusive to states supporting Republicans. Meanwhile, California, a “Blue” state, still has not abolished it. But the current Governor of California, Gavin Newsom has put a hold on executions. There is no federal mandate on the capital punishment, meaning that the employment of the death penalty in the U.S. is determined at the state level. The State Attorney General has the final say, and if a prisoner wants to appeal outside of state, their only option is the U.S. Supreme Court of Justice—which does not review many death penalty cases. The death penalty also is also influenced by the forces at the federal level; it became infamous during Donald Trump’s presidency, during which a total of 13 executions were carried out—the highest number since 1896. However, apart from Trump’s presidency the federal death penalty is rarely carried out. The Gallup research helps to step out of the narrative that the supporters of the death penalty have some inherent characteristics or evil traits. While there is a trend among different political parties, there is no consistent definition of a person favoring the death penalty. However, the indisputable fact of procedural and systematic issues make scrutiny over the death penalty all the more important, especially given the irreversibility in case of wrongful conviction. Recent news about executions of Travis Mullis, Emmanuel Littlejohn, Alan Miller, Freddie Owens and Marcellus “Khalifah” Williams in the span of a week brought such discussions to the forefront of the U.S. social media discourse. Being Czech, I was surprised that 5 executions in one week are in fact not the everyday reality of the U.S., as it last happened in 2003. The execution of Marcellus “Khalifah” Williams was publicly opposed, as some people believed him to be innocent in the murder of Felicia Gayle, for which he was convicted. His case highlights two key issues with the death penalty: the closure myth and systemic racism. The closure myth is a commonly held belief that by executing the murderer, the family of the victim will get a closure. Surely, some families do, however the process of a murderer receiving a death sentence is lengthy and there is a lack of mental health and financial support. Often, it leaves the families of the victims struggling even after the execution, delaying the process of closure. In this case, Governor of Missouri Michael L. Parson, who appealed on certainty, indirectly used the closure myth by stating : “Withdrawing the order allows the process to proceed within the judicial system, and, once the due process of law has been exhausted, everyone will receive certainty.” Given the external factors influencing the family (financial and health issues) it is not surprising that a study by Eaton and Christensen from 2014 concluded that co-victims (family members of the victim) “expressed their views on closure in various ways’’ and those “who did mention closure were evenly divided on whether they felt the execution provided closure or not.’’ This deconstructs the narrative that execution is the only way to provide closure for co-victims and while it can put their minds to rest there are more usually aspects preventing them from doing so. However, the family of Felicia Gayle, the murder victim, approved , together with the court, for Williams to enter an Alford plea , a plea where a defendant can maintain innocence while accepting a plea bargain and allowing Williams to be re-sentenced to life in prison. However, the state attorney general’s office opposed and blocked the decision by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. Presumably, when it comes to closure and justice for the family, it is not the family who decides, but rather the system does it for them without even taking the family’s position into account. The second issue arising during Williams’ process of appealing the death penalty was the selection of a jury. In an emergency appeal made to the U.S. Supreme Court before the execution of Williams, his attorney declared : “Of the seven Black venirepersons (out of 131 in total), the trial prosecutor [St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office] used peremptory strikes against six of them. His reasoning for excluding one of those venirepersons, Venireperson 64, was that he “reminded” him of Mr. Williams. He thought the men looked similar and that boy had ‘piercing eyes’ (App. 89a).” Later, the Supreme Court of Missouri found this reasoning to be race-neutral. A parallel can be drawn between the reasoning given by the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office of “piercing eyes”and of some white people complimenting black women’s hair while touching them without consent. On the surface it may seem innocent and “race-neutral,” but upon the addition of astriking imbalance of power, it becomes awfully clear that there are not many things in life that are race, gender or otherwise neutral . The selection process of jury pools is often based on registered voter lists or on driving licence holders, although other factors may apply. There is, however, no obligation to adapt mechanisms to achieve an equal representation of the community that the jury represents. Looking at the American justice system and racism in general, a 1990 study on Death Penalty Sentencing concluded that a “synthesis of the 28 studies shows a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing, and imposition of the death penalty […].” Furthermore, this study suggests that if a victim is white, the likelihood of the defendant receiving the death penalty is higher. This is disturbing on several levels including the fact that it implies the lives of Black people have lesser value when it comes to the severity of the penalty. The Innocence database is run by the Death Penalty Information Center, which records cases of people who have been sentenced to death but have been exonerated before the execution. Out of the 200 recorded cases, 108 wrongfully convicted people were Black, 21 were either Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Latinos or Asians. But these people are far away from being just numbers. This becomes evident in the case of Timothy Howard and Gary James, who spent 26 years in prison for bank robbery and murder as they were convicted in 1976 and freed only in 2003. On average, there is at least one person wrongfully convicted every year. It is true that the list of wrongful convictions ends in 2014, but it would be naïve to expect that it is because judges suddenly became infallible from then on. The Innocent database does not include people who have already been executed but could potentially be innocent. The Death Penalty Information Center provides a list of people who were executed and are now believed to be innocent, although according to the Center: “Courts do not generally entertain claims of innocence when the defendant is dead.” These statistics and the real human beings behind them tell heart-wrenching stories of a system failure that is irreparable. Even if we look at the cases of people who have been convicted because they were truly guilty, there are still aspects to the death penalty that make it morally questionable. Firstly, in the U.S., it is illegal to sentence a person with intellectual disabilities to death, yet mental illness is not included even though the American Bar Association states the following: “In short, the ABA finds that individuals with severe mental illnesses or disabilities present at the time of the crime should not be subject to capital punishment.” This is an unsurprising reflection of how U.S. society still views mental health. Mental health issues are weaponized when convenient—in the U.S. context, young school shooters are often portrayed as anomalies to a perfectly functioning system of gun control, without considering or acknowledging the dire situation of mental health struggles among young people. There is also this narrow-minded approach leading some to believe that mental illness is only used as an excuse, where in reality living with mental illness can be challenging to a level that people who have never experienced it can hardly imagine. The second problem is with the execution itself, as the preferred method of execution in the U.S. is death by lethal injection. There are recorded instances where the needle was administered incorrectly or the person executed was struggling to breath for tens of minutes to an hour before dying. Coming from the Czech Republic, a country which abolished capital punishment almost 35 years ago, the faulty procedures seem as vengeance, close to torture. Should society’s goal be to follow Hammurabi’s law “eye for an eye,” or should we let murderers sit with the horrors of their actions while not risking an execution of innocent people? Williams’s case should be a reminder that the death penalty is not a punishment standing on its own, rather there are external factors such as racism, lack of focus on mental health and the potential for false conviction. Society that carries out capital punishment must think very carefully about the policy’s potential consequences. Taking an innocent person’s life is a grave enough reason to put someone to death, but shouldn’t there be accountability for those who sentence innocent people to the death penalty? The answer is not simple and even if the U.S. were to abolish capital punishment, it does not put an end to the debate about it. Circling back to the example of the Czech Republic, although capital punishment has been abolished, we have only recently (in 2023) gotten to a point where the percentage of people opposing capital punishment is higher than that of its supporters. Yet, support for the death penalty is at 42 % and had we not had the constellation in which the capital punishment was abolished, Czech people might have had to face the same moral dilemma the Americans are facing today. And while my mother does live in a society without capital punishment and does not have to battle her conscience, the polarization on the topic has not vanished.

It is no secret that the OGC Nice vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv football match caused considerable controversy on our campus and in the region, but how did a solidarity protest lead to threats of halting the subsidized cafeteria project in Menton? < Back From Protesting a Match to Antisemitism Accusations: How Did a Student Initiative Cause Such Regional Controversy? By Ghazal Khalife September 30, 2022 Editor’s note: Objectivity is of paramount importance to The Menton Times. As such, the September 2022 issue of the publication features a variety of stances that students took amid the controversial Integration Week boycott. It is no secret that the OGC Nice vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv football match caused considerable controversy on our campus and in the region , but how did a solidarity protest lead to threats of halting the subsidized cafeteria project in Menton? This issue started when the Bureau des Élèves announced that OGC Nice would play against Maccabi Tel Aviv, the football match scheduled during Integration Week. The bureau clearly stated that the organization of this sporting event does not reflect a political stand, highlighting the student organization’s “apolitical” nature. The bureau endorsed “any (student) association wishing to express an opinion.” Sciences Palestine immediately responded with a call to boycott the match and began organizing a protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Sciences Palestine’s prompt call to action sparked a heated debate on the “Rising 1As” group chat. Many Sciences Pistes supported the protest, while others dismissed it as unjustified and inappropriate. However, the boycott was warranted. The match was a mere few weeks after the Israeli state bombed Gaza, killing 49 Palestinians and injuring 80, among them children and students. When asked why she wanted to organize the protest, the Co-president of Sciences Palestine, who asked to remain anonymous, responded: “Three weeks after Israeli bombardments ravaged Gaza once again, leaving its population on the brink of total despair, I just did not think it was right for people to attend a match where a team from the country that orchestrated the attacks was playing without knowing at all what was going on. Our plan was not to make attendees accountable or condemn the Israeli team... We did not want people to forget the atrocities that are being committed by the command of the state where the football team belonged. We wanted to take this opportunity to raise awareness and educate people about a situation that needs our urgent attention.” In light of our campus’s impressive diversity , it is no surprise that this protest elicited a wide range of reactions ranging from enthusiasm to harsh criticism. The dividing issue was whether a football match could be considered an apolitical event. Because Maccabi Tel Aviv was founded in 1906, before the establishment of the Israeli state, many argued that the football club has no formal ties to the nation. However, the aforementioned reason is insufficient to fully isolate the football team from Israel’s regime and depoliticize it, especially considering that it has strong historical and political links to the mainstream Zionist movement. Maccabi athletic organization was founded in Eastern Europe by Zionists before the first Jewish settlements were established in Palestine. However, in modern-day Israel, the Maccabi football team is still politicized because it has the power to evoke strong nationalist and regional sentiments. Regardless of whether one is critical of Israel’s actions, demonstrating the match may not have been an effective means of showing solidarity with Palestine. The protest could easily be misunderstood as condemning the attendees and the players on both teams or associating them with a preconceived political stance. This misconception became widespread when Nice’s mayor, Christian Estrosi, accused the organizers of the protest of antisemitism. Mr. Estrosi called for the prohibition of this protest claiming in a tweet that “anti-zionism often hides antisemitism.” Contrary to what Mr. Estrosi believes, anti-Zionism does not have to coincide with antisemitism; protesting a Zionist state’s actions does not mean protesting against the Jewish people. Antisemitism is an issue of utmost significance, and the term should not be thrown around to slander someone. None of the comments made by the organizer implied antisemitic sentiment but rather a condemnation of the Israeli state’s aggressive policies towards a downtrodden people. Comments like this show how polarizing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be and how quickly extreme claims can be made in the face of such a complex and sensitive topic. The co-president of Sciences Palestine responded to these accusations, saying: “I think they (accusations of antisemitism) are completely unfounded and strategically utilized to discredit any attempt by Palestinian solidarity organizations to expose the truth… I think it is quite clear that the target we are criticizing is a State and, most importantly, a specific and ongoing colonial project.” The backlash against the protest escalated into threats to shut down the project to open a cafeteria on our campus, which is not only an excessive reaction but also a reflection of the limits to freedom of expression and assembly. The protest was, in effect, abandoned, yet the controversy remained, and the hypocrisy behind the mayor’s logic was exposed. How could an apolitical project such as building a cafeteria be used to pressure students to stop a protest? Fortunately, many influential voices in the region still persist in their Palestinian activism. Another protest was declared in partnership with the Association France Palestine Solidrité Saturday, Sept. 3rd, after a relatively recent Amnesty International report (March 2022) explored the various elements of apartheid and human rights violations committed by Israel. This protest emphasized the sincere Palestinian spirit: a spirit of pride, unity and infinite resistance. The football match-protest controversy proved to be expository of regional representatives’ divisive and antagonizing tone. On a more positive note, it also highlighted the robust spirit of debate in our SciencesPo campus and the vibrant engagement in social and political affairs in the French Riviera.

Les Etats-Unis présentés comme terre mère de la démocratie et du libéralisme politique et économique sont aussi un état-continent appliquant toujours la peine de mort sur leur sol. < Back L'exécution de Kenneth Smith: une rupture dans l'application de la peine de mort aux Etats-Unis By Salomé Greffier Les Etats-Unis présentés comme terre mère de la démocratie et du libéralisme politique et économique sont aussi un état-continent appliquant toujours la peine de mort sur leur sol. Un pays, considéré comme la première puissance mondiale, qui laisse en effet vingt deux de ces états fédéraux condamner des criminels à la peine capitale. Un paradoxe soulevant des questions socio-politiques qui, malgré les interpellations, ne semblent guère faire agir la communauté internationale. Alors que 1 583 exécutions ont été répertoriées depuis 1977 sur l’ensemble du territoire, le 25 janvier dernier marque un tournant dans l’application de la peine de mort sur le sol étasunien. L’Alabama, état défenseur de la mise en vigueur de cette sentence, exécute Kenneth Smith par inhalation d’azote. Ce meurtrier âgé de 58 ans avait été condamné par le juge en charge de l’affaire à la peine capitale pour avoir commis le meurtre commandité d’Elizabeth Sennett en mars 1988. Kenneth Smith avait été payé par le mari de la victime, Charles Sennett Sr., pasteur et propriétaire du criminel, pour perpétrer l’assassinat. Suite à une tentative avortée d’application de sa peine, en novembre 2022, le condamné s’est vu imposer une exécution par une méthode non testée auparavant: l’hypoxie à l’azote. La Cour suprême avait en outre autorisé le procédé malgré l’objection de ses trois juges libéraux et les inquiétudes des opposants à la peine de mort, estimant que cette méthode pourrait potentiellement infliger des souffrances au condamné. Le procureur général de l’Alabama aurait, quant à lui, affirmé que l’azote gazeux “provoquerait une perte de conscience en quelques secondes et causerait la mort en quelques minutes”, rapporte l’agence Associated Press. Pourtant, la durée de l’exécution semble avoir donné raison aux préoccupations des libéraux et activistes luttant contre la peine de mort. Selon des témoins, la pénitence aurait en effet duré vingt deux minutes, entre le moment où le masque fut apposé sur la figure de Kenneth Smith et la déclaration de sa mort. Un délai également dénoncé par le conseiller spirituel du condamné, Jeff Hood, interrogé par la chaîne de télévision CNN. Il confie en ce sens qu’il n’avait jamais assisté à une telle exécution et qu’elle s’élèverait, d’après lui, au rang de la torture. (“I have never, ever seen anything like that [...] That was torture”) Par conséquent, l’essai de cette nouvelle méthode d’exécution, consistant à étouffer la personne à l’aide d’un gaz, soulève des questions morales et éthiques au delà du politique. Le problème dans ce cas n’est plus de savoir si la personne doit mourir pour le crime qu’elle a commis mais si celle-ci mérite d’être tuée en souffrant. L’histoire de la peine de mort aux Etats-Unis est à ce sens parsemée de condamnations ayant intenté à l’intégrité physique du condamné à cause d’aléas techniques. L’exemple de l’exécution de William Kemmler à la chaise électrique en août 1890 demeure dès lors significatif. Le condamné, après s’être vu infliger près de vingt secondes de courant électrique haute tension, perdit seulement connaissance, forçant les gardiens à réitérer l’opération malgré la souffrance de William Kemmler. Il en va de même pour toutes les innovations de techniques de mise à mort telles que la chambre à gaz ou l’injection létale. Chacune d’entre elles a été expérimentée sur un humain, un cobaye, au mépris du respect de la dignité et de l’intégrité humaine. Ainsi, la technique développée par l’Alabama semble nier les principes fondamentaux qui régissent le droit international relatif aux prisonniers. Volker Turk, le haut commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme s’est alors emparé de la controverse en déclarant que l’étouffement par azote gazeux pourrait s’apparenter à de la torture ou à un traitement cruel et dégradant ( “I deeply regret the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama despite serious concerns this novel and untested method of suffocation by nitrogen gas may amount to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”) Malgré cette dénonciation, il sera intéressant de se pencher sur les actions et condamnations possibles envers l’Etat de l’Alabama ou les Etats-Unis en général, de la part de la communauté internationale. Aux portes du couloir de la mort, les derniers mots prononcés par Kenneth Smith résument finalement tout l’enjeu soulevé par sa condamnation et méritent réflexion : “Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backward.” ( “Ce soir, l’Alabama a fait reculer l’humanité”).

“In each newspaper, you encounter accounts of incredible queerness. For our writers these occurrences are fantastical, and Their Lords do not even want to take them into consideration, whilst they are the reality in itself, because they consist of random events. Who would want to observe, to elucidate and to register them? Events as such are consumed continuously, day by day, and are not exceptions. All of the reality passes us incessantly.” < Back News: Informative or Desensitizing? Amer El Ibrahim February 28, 2025 News. They are everywhere. Opening up our phones, news inundates us immediately. Watching the TV has become a sine qua non means to propagate news intensely, perpetually, with no rest or response. Relatives and loved ones get together in this ridiculous and quite tragic game, filling the void of the silences one always encounters in day-to-day inter-human relationships with some novelty that has happened somewhere: “Have you heard that…?” One really ought to wonder whether these reported occurrences should actually be disseminated or not and whether their spread affects our means to reason and feel in a positive or negative manner. News, as in the reported occurrences distributed by newspapers, social media, TV and so forth, could be well regarded as a means to a greater end. After all, one can know through trusted sources about the atrocities of the Israelis in Gaza, the genocides in Myanmar, the fall of the Boeing plane in South Korea, the casualties and evolution of the war in Ukraine, and the list goes on endlessly. On a more microcosmic level, one is deemed to find out about the local murderer/rapist/pedophile of the country or region one lives in, along with a thorough exploration of their psyche by verified “experts”. Indeed, this showcase of evil, decay, misery, death and injustice, may alight in some the desire to fight against this aesthetic of ugliness type of spectacle (graced by Baudelaire). And on a grander level, it is exactly this news that indirectly creates associations and NGOs that fight the darkness of this world—a rare case of nobility being born out of despair and suffering. However, to my naked eye, this category of noble warriors is or seems an outright minority. For the rest of us mortals, negative news provides a blessed opportunity for morbid entertainment. One feels a type of fear and trembling when one hears about a terrible train accident near one’s city, but, simultaneously, one also feels a certain delight that they were not on that train, that they survived and the others did not. Moreover, the majority of news conveys tragic events, not because of higher ideals but because that is what the public demands . The negativity bias is not an appendage of the pessimist, but a real phenomenon that affects all of us. We are, indeed, much more moved by death rather than the blooming of a flower. Adding to this propensity for negativity which is very much indulged by the rule of supply and demand, the pervasiveness of news in our lives not only entertains us but desensitizes us to the spectacle that life offers us daily. How could one be moved intrinsically by the bleak and silent suffering of the poor pensioner, the next-corner beggar, the lone mother or the common orphan in times when we hear constantly about the piles of corpses gathered in Palestine and Ukraine, the deaths of thousands in floods and earthquakes and the genocides that sporadically occur in Africa or Asia? This is the perfect recipe for bleakness through over-shadowing events. So much death and suffering, yet one remains completely detached from this debacle. Then the following question must be asked: How does one benefit from being a third-party witness to such atrocities? The grandiosity of all these major events that usually happen somewhere far away adds another dimension: magical realism. Through their distance from us, they become almost fabulous events that seem to be spurned out of the fantasy of an imaginative child rather than from the outside reality. Such events are the reality in all of its randomness, cruelty and fugitive play, not a dream-like theater of forces outside of our grasp. This prevalence of negative news has developed and enhanced a spiritual organ or mechanism with which we have already been endowed. This organ acts to rebut such events from our consciousness, which, by the rule of chance and luck, could have regarded us in their course, but which have not. Thus, to achieve this, this organ places such events in the land of the fabulous and magical, even though they might seem to the helpless reason as real as they can get. The heart, as Pascal would say, has a completely different reasoning. This organ also allows a steady march through life, as it diminishes the effect the surrounding human suffering has on us. It is as if one is gently tased, but no more than what someone with an auditive prosthesis could hear. This probl é matique posed by news has been identified since its beginnings almost 200 years ago, by writers such as Dostoyevski or Flaubert. A quote by the former is edifying in this sense: “In each newspaper, you encounter accounts of incredible queerness. For our writers these occurrences are fantastical, and Their Lords do not even want to take them into consideration, whilst they are the reality in itself, because they consist of random events. Who would want to observe, to elucidate and to register them? Events as such are consumed continuously, day by day, and are not exceptions. All of the reality passes us incessantly.” On an ending note, there is no clear path to take regarding news. Out of the pendulum of either/or presented above, a middle way seems to prevail: moderation in the consumption of news. Elimination is impossible, while overindulging is mental and sentimental castration. And one more thing: let us see reality through our own eyes and in itself (as much as one can, thanks Kant!), not through the lens of statistics, assertions or real but miraculous occurrences. Photo credits: Miguel Ángel Arreguin Padilla, 2022