Sylvie Retailleau's entourage says they support the University of Lille's decision to cancel a conference around Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Rima Hassan scheduled for this Thursday. "We support this decision on its legal grounds," insists the minister's entourage.
The university announced in a press release released at midday on Wednesday that "the conditions are no longer met to guarantee the serenity of the debates," due to the "worrying" rise in international tensions after "the military escalation." The government is so far silent on the subject of the controversial Lille conference, to which Jean-Luc Mélenchon is invited, but says it is important that conferences with diverse ideologies can be held. The minister's fight for the ideas of Mélenchon "is very clear, but it is precisely because we believe in the values of democracy that we cannot afford to authorize or not an event on this simple criterion," it is stated.