Issue 7: April 2022

Décryptage des élections présidentielles de 2022

Article par Morgane Abbas, chroniqueuse

Nous sommes le diman che 24 avril, il est 20:26, et cela fait maintenant approximativement une demi-heure que le peuple français a démocratique ment élu le Président de la République française, Emmanuel Macron, pour les cinq années à venir. Il s’agit de la douzième élection présidentielle à avoir lieu sous la

cinquième République. C’est également le second et dernier quinquennat du président, tel que le dispose la Constitution depuis la réforme de 2008. Cette journée a été décisive pour l’avenir de la France et l’on concède facilement que c’est à l’image d’une période de campagne mouvementée qui a fait surgir de nom breux rebondissements.

Son intensité offre une consistance certaine à la

réflexion et à la rétro spective: retour sur les élections présidentielles françaises de 2022. Les résultats du premier tour

Le verdict est tombé aux alentours de 20 heures le 10 avril dernier: décep tion pour les uns, soul agement pour les autres ou encore indifférence pour certains, des allures familières de 2017 refont surface puisque se sont

vus de nouveau affronter au second tour le prési dent sortant Emmanuel Macron et la candidate d’extrême-droite Marine Le Pen. Avant cela, ce sont 12 candidats portant une vision bien spéci fique de la France qui se sont livrés à un combat féroce pour convaincre le maximum de français de voter pour eux le jour du scrutin.

Article by Saorise Aherne, staff re porter

If you had walked down Avenue de Saint-Ouen this past Saturday, you might have heard a distant ca cophony of noise. You would have caught the audible wail of a clas sic electric guitar, but layered on a rhythm that was not quite rock, not quite funk, not quite blues. continued on page 28

Erosion of Brazilian Democracy

Article by Lara-Nour Walton, staff reporter

Something sinister was afoot in 2012 Brasilia. Money was moving unnaturally... continued on page 15

Sounds of a movement: where politics and music collide

Emmanual

Mdou Moctar plays a gig

Photo by Saorise Aherne

Jair Bolsonaro pictured in March 2020. Photo courtesy of Palácio do Planalto, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Flickr

The Menton Times: A Year in Review

Mentoniya, Mentoniya.

Last summer, I was struck with a vision for a newspaper that would synthesize campus discourse and bring all student events together in one collective monthly recount. Though I was committed to bring ing it to life, I never foresaw the scope or size that it would reach in just one year.

Mentoniya, on behalf of the Men ton Times, I thank you for your readership and a successful first year together. The trials and tribula tions of just one year at Sciences Po have filled the pages of our newspa per with fresh opinions, breaking news, sparkling student features, and insightful coverage of sporting events and local arts.

The journey of creating a news paper from scratch was filled with the unexpected — it was a turbu lent yet irreplaceable experience. I got to watch our designer and my dear friend, 2A Ada Baser, create a layout template from scratch. She pieced together over 30 articles worth of content into one digital masterpiece each and every month.

“Starting the design of a paper from scratch wasn’t the easiest experi ence… [but] at the end of the day, it’s been a pleasure to work with the many different members of the team, because designers need to communicate with reporters, photographers, and the editorial board,” said Baser. “I hope I have been able to bring their amazing works to life.” Her clean-cut designs have been praised by Mentonese students. “I really like the mise-en-

page,” said 1A Amira Zargouni, “it’s really easy to read.”

Our editorial team, made up of 1A Ayse Lara Selcuker, 1A Lara-Nour Walton, 2A Morgane Abbas, and myself, has had to edit just as many articles to fulfill our three-step edit ing process. “Editing felt special to me because journalism has been a really formative source for me,” said Walton. “To make this newspaper a reality was genuinely so fulfilling.”

My role as Editor-in-Chief, besides managing and organizing the team, consisted of a wondrous albeit time-consuming process by which I had to review each article that was ever published. I knew that I was collecting stories from the students, combining them in one collective and polished form, and sending them back to the student

body for all to read. I wanted to do them justice. I grasped the signif icance of my job in qualifying the words our students were entrust ing to the paper to send out to the world.

Our photography team, led by 1A Hugo Lagergren and composed of 1A Emilia Kohlmeyer and 2A Wang Di, has brought each and every story to life with its talent and eye for the camera.

The staff reporters and guest re porters, without whom this paper would not exist, made the decision to share their stories with us and with you — a decision for which we are endlessly grateful.

“Writing for the Menton Times has been incredible! I joined the team with little writing experience, but I

The founding team of the Menton Times pictured in September 2021

Photo by Emilia Kohlmeyer

saw my skills improve through the feedback and support of our edi tors, and my articles allowed me to further immerse myself in the topics I am most passionate about,” said 1A Magdelena Offenbeck.

Over the course of one year, we have worked with a team of over 20 full-time members and have wel comed around 40 guest writers. We wrote articles in collaboration with a variety of associations, ranging from Sciences Alcoolémiques to the Stone Skipping Society to the BDS to Babel, MEDMUN, TedX, Environnementon, and the list goes on.

2A Isabella Aouad, who contribut ed to the newspaper as a guest re porter, noted, “It was very impres sive how, in one year, the Menton Times became a real thing. It was very consistent and rigorous and featured really high quality arti cles.” 1A Joudi Arafa, who claimed she was proud to contribute as a guest reporter, affirmed, “The Men ton Times is a big campus name.”

I’m proud of our team for creating a shared vision out of what started as a small idea. The process behind the paper starts with our monthly meetings, which take on the form of a team brainstorming session, to choose article topics for that month’s issue. “I really enjoyed the flexibility of choosing my topics in stead of having them assigned,” said 1A staff reporter Luca Utterwulghe. I’ve always trusted our writers with the topics they chose, and I was ec static that they matched my trust with passion and motivation for the job.

Besides our partnerships and guest articles, we try to include everyone on the campus by incorporating student quotes in each article. “It’s fun interviewing people to get quotes for my articles,” said Utter wulghe, “I learned a lot from this past year at the Menton Times.” I am grateful to you, Mentoniya, for electing our association to be an official student initiative this

past semester, opening up doors of opportunity for us with your trust. With the exception of the month of February, we upheld our promise to you to publish each and every month. For the first year, our 7-1 success rate makes me quite proud.

I recognize that our process wasn’t perfect. This was just the start of an association that I hope will live on for years after my departure. I believe in the future leaders of the association to not only enhance our process, but establish addi tional projects and events to make campus life even more robust. I am proud to announce that the asso ciation will be carried on by LaraNour Walton as Editor-in-Chief, Magdelena Offenbeck as Manag ing Editor, and Hugo Lagergren as Head of Photography.

I originally intended for the Men ton Times to be a route for stu dents to be heard by their peers, an opportunity for one to collect their thoughts before making them public, and to bring attention to a particular experience or event. It was supposed to serve as a chance to create change in our small, cozy Mentonese ummah. My goal, above all, was to bring students closer together.

In my original “Letter from the Ed itor” in our very first issue, I wrote that journalism is a pillar of democ racy, a chance to touch the hearts and minds of those around us and change the course of history for the better. Here in Menton, I hope we’ve done that on a personal lev el — if nothing else, I hope we’ve helped you better understand and resonate with the going-ons of our little community. I hope we’ve in formed you.

Thank you for your attention, and for the last time this year, happy reading!

Sincerely and with love, Celeste Abourjeili

Founder & Editor-in-Chief Menton Times 2021-2022

The Menton Times Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Celeste Abourjeili

Menton Policy Review President

Florian Heydecker Copy Chief

Ayse Lara Selçuker Head of Design Ada Baser

Marketing Team

Lenora Dsouza Viola Luraschi

Morgane Abbas* Lara-Nour Walton*

Section Editors Hugo Lagergren Head of Photographers

Photographers

Wang Di Emilia Kohlmeyer

Staff Reporters

Colin Lim Hugo Lagergren

Luca Utterwulghe Saoirse Aherne* Magdelena Offenbeck

Emilia Kohlmeyer Lara Nour Walton Lenora D’souza Celeste Abourjeili

Morgane Abbas

Guest Reporters

Stanislaw Naklicki

Ata Tezel

Greta Murgia

Aicha Yahaya

Lionel Chambon

Lilou D’Inca Solenn Ravenel

Samy El Maloui Maria Azadian Raja Madani

Western Sanctions and the Future of Russia - China Relations

Article by Magdalena Offenbeck, staff reporter

The sanctions imposed by the West following the invasion of Ukraine in February have significantly damaged the Russian economy. Nevertheless, the idea of a strong er Sino-Russian alliance to evade sanctions and counter their effects hangs over the head of the West like the Sword of Damocles. How realistic is this? Will Western states’ intervention tip the scale in favor of Ukraine or does China offer a via ble economic alternative?

Now, two months into the invasion, the United States, the European Union, and their allies seem to have reached their sanction-imposing limit. Yet, the battles have not halt ed. In light of recent human rights violations in Bucha and beyond, we ask ourselves why, despite all the actions taken to counteract the Russian invasion, so little progress has been made.

Now, after the recent meeting in Beijing between Russian and Chi

nese foreign ministers, a new fear has emerged: the alarming possi bility that Russia could evade sanc tions by strengthening economic and political ties with the People’s Republic of China. In the meeting, the two powers discussed closer economic ties and joint strategic security interests.

China was Russia’s top trading part ner in 2011, with a trading volume that is approximately 2.5 times that with Germany, Russia’s second most important trading partner. Of the five largest trading partners with Russia, Germany, the Neth erlands, and the United States are imposing sanctions; China and Be larus are not.

It is no secret that these sanctions have had a grave impact on Rus sia’s economy. However, with the West’s dependence on Russian oil and gas exports, the trade volume will likely not shrink close to zero in the near future. This is not to say that Russia does not need the West for its relative economic prosperity, but if Russian history has shown

one common trait, it is that its lead ers, from the Tzars and the Bolshe viks to current President Vladimir

This leaves us with the typical “only time can tell” conclu sion. Beijing will likely navigate the conflict opportunely, gaining from an increased trade with Russia. However, it will avoid becoming the target of equally harsh economic sanctions or getting involved directly in the conflict. In other words, China is happy to re main more of a side actor.

Putin, do not tend to prioritize the interest of the people. Putin’s war will hurt the Russian citizens, who are now facing inflation, shortages and the effects of a sudden isolation after 30 years of relative openness. They will not hurt the president and the surrounding elite who control the wealth in the country, unless one considers the loss of a chalet in Switzerland to be equally grave as a lack of basic necessities. In consequence, Putin and his po

litical elite will not only be much less affected but they can also use repression and misinformation to silence dissat isfied citizens. Russian prop aganda may present an alli ance between Russia and China as an economically equally viable alternative to trade with the West, but its success is doubtful, es pecially considering the financial instability Western sanctions have caused.

China has been playing a careful balancing act. Abstaining from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on a resolution re garding Ukraine (unsurprisingly vetoed by Russia), it has since been avoiding any strong positioning. However, abstention is a position in itself. By continuing trade relations with Russia and further following objectives to increase trade in the course of the decade, China has de facto sided with Russia. In a recent speech before the UNSC, the Chi nese delegate Dai Bing mastered the art of diplomatic vagueness. He encouraged negotiation and urged for equal protection of ref ugees, general statements that do not assign blame. He did “deplore” the Russian attack on a Ukrainian train station (denied by Russia), however, Dai Bing only called for an investigation of the cause rath er than condemning the apparent perpetrator. Arguably the most en

lightening part of Dai Bing’s speech was his declaration that sanction ing and providing weapons “will not bring about peace.” Rather, they have brought about “a food crisis for which the whole world pays the price.”

It is true that Western intervention has triggered a food crisis and put the global economy to the test. However, China is well aware that, to the participating nations, this is about more than the global econo my. It is about Russia’s bid to chal lenge the world order and a postwar status quo that has benefited Europe and the United States more than anyone else. They are willing to go to great lengths to protect their positions. Yet, China has also seen its rise in that order. The West has both been an important trading partner and a strategic rival, a dy namic that has allowed the People’s Republic to experience unprece dentedly rapid growth, develop ment, and increased geopolitical

power. China and Russia are often treated as one entity because both are arguably the most important “non-Western” political actors and maintain similar political stances. But, Russia is also both a trading partner and a strategic rival to China, even if both share a common resent ment towards the West. China has increased trade with Rus sia and benefited from Moscow’s isolation by gain ing strategic im portance. How ever, both Russia succeeding in its annexation and becoming too powerful or the West gaining from increased unity and self-sufficiency are not ideal for Beijing. China has no interest in

seeing the political framework that it has been navigating successfully uprooted as it proceeds to silently expand its sphere of influence glob ally. The status quo of the past years has allowed Beijing to become a

It is true that Western inter vention has triggered a food crisis and put the global econ omy to the test. However, China is well aware that, to the participating nations, this is about more than the global economy. It is about Russia’s bid to challenge the world or der and a post-war status quo that has benefited Europe and the United States more than anyone else. They are willing to go to great lengths to pro tect their positions.

key actor in Africa, Central Asia, and beyond. If any side emerges stronger from the conflict, their

next focus could be countering Chinese geopolitical influence in their backyard, an undesired out come for the rising power.

This leaves us with the typical “only time can tell” conclusion. Beijing will likely navigate the conflict opportunely, gaining from an in creased trade with Russia. Howev er, it will avoid becoming the target of equally harsh economic sanc tions or getting involved directly in the conflict. In other words, China is happy to remain more of a side actor. The political landscape will be transformed through this inva sion, but it is unclear how exactly, and China might not be quite cer tain how to feel about it. Ultimately, the People’s Republic has been de fending its own interests in the geo political game for a while and there is reason to believe that it will man age to use the current status quo to continue its endeavors.

The imposing royal palace overlooks Moscow houses Russia’s secret service, the Kremlin, pictured in December of 2012.

Photo by Pavel Kazachkov, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>

Putin’s War Impact on the MENA Region

Article by Stanislaw Naklicki, guest reporter

Two months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we gradually grasp a clearer view of the global impact of the war. Middle Eastern states’ hes itant and fearsome response to the invasion can be explained by the region’s vulnerability caused by ex tensive trade ties with both parties involved and Russia’s regional pow er in the area. Policy experts delin eate a grim image of the possible impact of the war in Ukraine, which might partly explain an apparently cynical and pragmatic response from countries with a strong collec tive memory of the horrors of war. Middle East/North Africa (MENA) states have found them selves in a crunch. Russia is an important trade partner for most of them. Egypt, Maghreb, and Gulf countries depend heavily on Russian wheat exports. Ukraine is also a large exporter of wheat, but besides trade, involvement in the war presents political power im balances. The UAE can allow itself to anger Ukraine. Russia, not so much. However, it is not Ukraine itself that puts the regional states in an awkward limbo of not support ing, but not condemning. The same states that depend on Russia for imports entertain strong relations with the United States. USA’s un conditional support for Ukraine is what makes MENA states want to appease both sides. Unsurprisingly, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, and Morocco ei ther abstained or were absent from the UN vote on the condemnation of the Russian invasion. Earlier, on the 27th of February, perhaps thrown off-guard, UAE abstained from the condemnation vote with in the Security Council.

The primary danger for the gov ernments and populations in the region is the disturbance of wheat imports. Russia and Ukraine are re spectively the largest and fifth-larg est exporters of wheat in the world. Egypt, the largest wheat buyer in the world, imports 80% of its wheat supply from Russia and Ukraine. The war caused unsubsidized bread price rise of around 50%. Subsi dizing bread, which has been an untouchable constant in Egypt since immemorial times, is now going to become significantly more costly. As indicated by the Fonda tion Méditerranéenne d’Etudes Stratégiques and the Economist, this may lead to social unrest and riots. Rising bread prices have al ready been a trigger for upheaval in Egypt, like in 1977.

Besides Egypt, countries that are particularly vulnerable are those that suffer from an unfortunate combination of lack of hydrocar

tection for years now, hosting an nual ministers’ meetings. However, Israel is the iron ally of the United States, and its unequivocal support has at times dictated American for eign policy. To America’s regret, Israel had been slow to accuse Rus sia of its crimes, rejected Ukraine’s appeal for equipment support, and offered to act as a mediator. Israel itself is in an uncomfortable posi tion following the invasion.

bon resources and heavy depend ence on Russia and Ukraine for agricultural products. Among them is Palestine, which, while sharing the economic hardships brought upon Israel by the war, will be the only entity responsible for its pop ulation’s food security. These coun tries are joined by states already suffering severe crises, like Leba non, where the Beirut Explosion has destroyed the main grain silos, Syria and Yemen.

Interestingly, Israel is similarly cau tious with many Arab states in its diplomacy. States such as Egypt have been flirting with Russian pro

However, there are actors that aim to emerge as winners of the current situation. First of all, the OPEC member states. Oil prices have hit their 10-year high. The countries that are going to benefit from this the most are the Kingdom of Sau di Arabia, Algeria, Libya, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq and the UAE. Algeria in particular is looking to move its alliance network in the direction of the West by delivering cheap gas in return for infrastructural invest ments by countries like Germany. Its pipelines to Italy and Spain will help in that. Furthermore, since the eyes of the international communi ty are focused on Ukraine, regional powers might be looking to ad vance their interests. Up until now, Turkish President Erdogan has been getting closer with NATO, although still maintaining decent relations with Putin.

Duality on this scale is unthought of in Europe, where one must, at least symbolically, pick a side. This limbo, however, might be actually a calming factor: by avoiding con tradictory declarations with neigh boring states, MENA states are pre venting further rise of tension in an already heated region of the world.

Sergey Lavrov and Adel Al-Jubeir, foreign ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia, respectively, join together for a meeting.

Photo by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/4.0>

Global Inflation:

Is the fairy tale beast back to haunting us?

Article by Ata Tezel, guest reporter

If you are a regular at Brioche Dorée, the recent 10% price in crease of the student deal might have been catastrophic news. In fact, a double-digit inflation rate is becoming a reality in the devel oped world, with the Organization for European Economic Co-op eration (OECD) average annual rate reaching 7.7 percent in March 2022. With the United States expe riencing its highest level of inflation since 1981 and Europe following closely, inflation, a phenomenon that many economists claimed was long gone, seems to be back. But how worried should we be?

Why is inflation back?

The rise in inflation caught many economists and central banks off guard – as a matter of fact, nearly none of the central bank inflation forecasts in the developed world were accurate for 2021. This is sur prising, as the recovery from the economic downturn of the pan demic signaled increased pressure on both the demand and supply sides of economies. Simply put, today’s inflation is the result of too much money chasing too few goods: an inevitable outcome of the economic policies of the pan demic era.

The demand-side inflation (also known as demand-pull inflation) is, in large part, related to the drastic aggregate demand recovery fueled by the stimulus packages distribut ed by governments during the pan demic alongside the overall global employment recovery. The US fed eral government passed stimulus packages that injected more than 4.5 trillion dollars into the econo my, with the EU following up with a package of 2 trillion euros. With many investing their stimulus mon

ey on mid- to long-term assetssuch as government bonds, stocks, gold, and real estate - demand-side pressures increased prices for these highly attractive assets. In fact, all American indices have passed far beyond their pre-pandemic levels, signaling an unprecedented de mand recovery from the pandemic.

As the economy on the demand side wasis stronger than ever, the ories suggest inflation should be expected. Though one might then ask: “how has the developed world grown at a stable rate for years while keeping inflation at bay and main taining low unemployment and minimal monetary intervention?”

The difference this time is that the pressure is on the supply-side.

The impact of the pandemic was more drastic on the supply-side compared to demand-side simply because short to mid-term adjust ments in supply tend to be more inelastic than demand-side adjust ments. For example, the ongoing electronic chip shortage can be partly attributed to the automak ers’ decision to slash orders during the early stages of the pandemic which led chipmakers to switch their products to fit the surging de mand for consumer electronics. As the aggregate demand recovered, the supply of cars is now drastically halted due to the chipmakers’ un willingness and inability to switch their supply back to the automotive sector. This caused a spillover de mand for substitutes, resulting in a 20 percent price increase in the second-hand car market in the US.

Moreover, disruptions to supply chains triggered by the pandemic are now exacerbated by political tensions spurred by the Ukrainian war. The increase in energy prices has reached, on average, 27 per cent in OECD due to the political tensions surrounding oil and natu

ral gas supply. This cost-push inflation is only aggra vated by the cutting of gov ernment sub sidies to many sectors – sub sidies that were instrumental in the survival of many busi nesses during the economic fallout of the pandemic.

What to expect now?

While the dramatic increase in in flation is worrying for many, cen tral banks have been cautious in implementing monetary policy to combat rising inflation. Through out 2021, the consensus among the developed world was that the increase in global inflation was temporary and would eventual ly fade out as market forces settle around pre-pandemic levels. The higher-than-usual inflation rates could also be attributed to the un usually low commodity prices in 2020 caused by the demand fallout which would have given rise to un natural inflation once demand and prices returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, recent political developments in commodity mar kets are forcing central banks to take action. The US Federal Re serve had already started tapering its quantitative easing policy by the end of 2021, effectively increasing real interest rates without changing their near-zero policy rate. Lead ing emerging markets have also responded to inflation throughout the year, with many increasing poli cy interest rates by couple hundred basis points - a move that the devel oped world resisted to take.

Nevertheless, by March 2022, the Federal Reserve was forced to in crease its policy rate for the first time since 2018, an action soon replicated by the Bank of England.

The Fed also signaled further in creases in the policy rates up to 3.5 percent, citing the dangers of high inflation. Central banks around the developed world now hope to raise rates rapidly to avoid a “hard landing.” However, many are skep tical about central banks’ ability to use monetary policy effectively without causing a recession. Con sidering the track record of the Fed, recession risks are no doubt ele vated, creating a low morale in the world of economics. As inflation is affected by expectations as much as by market forces (if not more), pes simism and distrust in the market could be the biggest worry of all. With the European Central Bank also signaling a potential switch from its zero-interest policy, the fu ture is more unclear than ever. The question is, can the West curb its inflation as successfully as Japan or is it leading to a catastrophic fallout like Turkey? The answer, as with everything else, will probably lie somewhere in between.

Inflation is rising everywhere. Photo by Advantus Media Inc., CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/4.0>

Elon Bought Twitter:

What does this mean for free speech on social media?

Article by Luca Utterwulghe, staff reporter

In a digitized, interconnected world, the freedom of expression has entered an entirely new do main. Individuals or groups hold ing significant clout on the internet have far-reaching networks through which they may propagate their views. On such an inflated scale of communication, stakeholders have begun to question how these streamlined information-sharing processes have redefined the liber ty of speech.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and media extraordinaire with over 81 million followers on Twitter, announced on April 13th that he wants to own all of Twitter, exponentially expanding his 9% share of company stock, according to the New York Times. In his Se curities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposal file, Musk wrote a message to Bret Taylor, chairman of the board of Twitter, explaining that he initially invested in Twitter because he “believe[d] in its po

tential to be the platform for free speech around the globe.” Musk further noted that “the company [Twitter] will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative [free speech] in its current form.” His vision is to privatize the compa ny after purchasing the remaining shares.

beneficial for Twitter to capitalize on the insight that Elon,” a super entrepreneur, as Allani calls him, would offer the company.

will undergo significant changes to its platform, unleashing further debate over the role of social media in civil liberties. Business Insider has identified several significant changes Musk would likely make upon ownership: (1) “looser mod eration” of content on the platform; (2) rendering Twitter’s algorithm “open source,” meaning that it can be “manipulated openly by many different contributors;” and (3) introducing an edit feature through which Tweets can be changed after they are shared. Musk has openly quarreled with the idea that Twitter is a “de facto town square” regulat ing public speech, a sentiment fur ther demonstrated by his criticism of permanent bans from the plat form, as seen with the removal of Donald Trump.

Social media interactions are fundamentally different from real human relations, sug gesting that regulations may need to adapt accordingly. So, should speech on social media be completely unre stricted, or do companies like Twitter have a responsibility to ensure equal access and limit the dissemination of false information?

1A Louai Allani “believe[s] that Elon Musk can definitely tap into Twitter’s true potential, which is free speech, democracy, etc.” Allani explained that “it would be very

Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion on Monday, April 25, a move sparking concern amongst those combating online hate speech and gain ing support from other “free speech absolutist[s].” One Tweet reflective of the oppositional sentiment is that of political and social rights activist Shaun King: “At its root, @ ElonMusk wanting to buy Twitter is not about left vs right. It’s about white power. The man was raised in Apartheid [South Africa] by a white nationalist. He’s upset that Twitter won’t allow white na tionalists to target/harass people. That’s his definition of free speech.” All that is certain is that Twitter

Musk’s prioritization of free speech on social media platforms has emerged amidst a broader debate on the role these platforms should play in protecting expression and preventing dangerous forms of abuse and misinformation. TIME references contemporary research which has found that “sites that privilege free speech above all else tend to result in spaces where civic discourse is drowned out by harass ment, restricting participation to a privileged few.” Social media inter actions are fundamentally different from real human relations, suggest ing that regulations may need to adapt accordingly.

So, should speech on social media be completely unrestricted, or do companies like Twitter have a re sponsibility to ensure equal access and limit the dissemination of false information?

Elon Musk tweets shortly after the announcement that he would be purchasing Twitter. Photo courtesy of Twitter

Décryptage des élections présidentielles de 2022

suite de la page 1

Les scores respectifs obtenus sont les suivants: 27.85% des voix pour le candidat Emmanuel Macron de “La République en Marche”, 23.15 % pour la candidate Marine Le Pen du “Rassemblement National” , 21.95 % pour le candidat Mélen chon de “La France Insoumise”, 7.07 % pour le candidat Eric Zem mour de “Reconquête”, 4.78 pour la candidate Valérie Pécresse des “Républicains”, 4.63 % pour le can didat Yannick Jadot de “Europe Ecologie les Verts”, 3.13% pour le candidat Jean Lassalle de “Résis tons”, 2.28 % pour le candidat Fabi en Roussel du “Parti Communiste Français” , 2.06 % pour le candidat Nicolas Dupont-Aignan de “De bout la France”, 1.75 % pour la candidate Anne Hidalgo du “Parti socialiste”, 0.77 % pour le candi dat Philippe Poutou du “Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste”et enfin 0.56% pour la candidate Nathalie Arthaud de la “Lutte ouvrière”. On le con state clairement , bien que le duel final se répète, on observe une re configuration de l’espace politique autour de trois principaux pôles: celui de l’extrême gauche, du cen tre et de l’extrême-droite. En effet, avec pourtant un candidat de plus qu’en 2017 dans la course (dont 7 communs entre les deux élections), les pourcentages de voix recueillis par Emmanuel Macron, Marine Le Pen et Jean-Luc Mélenchon sont en hausse par rapport à ceux d’il y a cinq ans. Ils se situent tous au-des sus du cap des 20 % et clairement loin devant tous les autres candi dats, le quatrième, Eric Zemmour, ne recueillant approximativement que 7 % des voix. Le président sor tant récolte donc 3.84 % de voix de plus que par rapport aux dernières élections, cette hausse étant de 1.85 % pour la représentante du RN et

de 2.37 % pour le candidat de LFI. Pourtant, en 2017, ce fut plutôt une répartition quadripartite des voix qui se dessina, avec la figure en plus du républicain François Fillon, qui se hissa à la troisième position du classement, juste devant Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

candidat comme Eric Zemmour, se présentant pour la première fois à l’élection présidentielle et dont le parti “Reconquête” ne fut créé il n’y a approximativement qu’un an, a eu une capacité à mobiliser supérieure à celle des deux partis traditionnels de la Cinquième République. Cela témoigne donc de manière assez flagrante d’une reconfiguration et d’une remise en cause du clivage gauche-droite traditionnel, bien que ce dernier n’ait pas disparu.

emple de la polémique autour du Pacte budgétaire européen ou du passage en force de la loi El Khomri via l’utilisation de l’article 49-3 de la Constitution. En somme, le PS

Ces constats démontrent bien que la France de 2022 n’est pas celle de 2017, que beaucoup de choses ont profondément changé l’allure du paysage politique. D’abord, et c’est bien là le plus frappant, cette élection semble sans aucun doute être celle de l’ascension fulgurante des extrêmes au détriment des par tis traditionnels de gauche et de droite, qui doivent faire face à une déception amère. Notons que ce choix des français s’inscrit dans une importance particulière donnée à la thématique du pouvoir d’achat, qui arrive en tête des préoccupations des français selon une enquête menée par IPSOS. L’extrême droite (Le Pen, Zemmour et Dupont-Aig nan) à elle seule récolte 32.28% des voix, soit presque un tiers des suffrages exprimés, ce qui est con sidérable, quand l’extrême gauche (Mélenchon, Roussel, Poutou, Arthaud) a quant à elle convaincue 25.56 % des électeurs. Au premier tour de l’élection présidentielle de 2017, ces chiffres n’étaient respec tivement que de 26 % et de 21.31 %. Face à cette percée significative, les socialistes et les républicains ont bien triste mine à l’annonce des résultats. Ensemble, la maire de Par is, Anne Hidalgo, et la présidente du Conseil régional d’Île-de-France, Valérie Pécresse, ne dépassent pas 6.6 % des voix. Cela signifie qu’un

Ayant mentionné la défaite cui sante du PS et de LR au scrutin du 10 avril 2022, peut-on pour autant affirmer que la dynamique de déc lin est la même chez les deux partis ? Pas exactement. La descente aux enfers du Parti Socialiste n’est pas récente et les résultats obtenus par le parti s’inscrivent dans la continu ité d’un processus déjà engagé. En 2017, Benoît Hamon ne récoltait alors que 6.36 % des voix. Difficile de croire que ce par ti accédait à la prési dence il y a quelques années seulement, en 2012. Mais le quinquen nat de François Hollande, notam ment marqué par les divisions internes du parti entre les politiques mis es en place par les chefs du gou vernement successifs (Ayrault, Cazeneuve, Valls) et la contestation des “frondeurs” met à mal la pop ularité et la crédibilité du chef de l’Etat, notamment vis-à-vis de ses électeurs. On se rappelle par ex

Pour beaucoup de françaisdéçus par l’issue du scrutin, les journées du 12 et du 19 juin s’annoncentdécisives. Ce sont en effet les dates qui permettrontd’élire les 577 députésde l’Assemblée Nationale, dont la majorité dégagéedéterminera le Premier ministre ainsi qu’une partie importante des politiques mises en place pendant le quinquennat.

n’a jamais fait pire comme score dans son histoire, et une rupture de confiance avec son électorat tradi tionnel semble bien avoir eu lieu. La campagne électorale d’Anne Hidalgo qui a eu énormément de mal à être lancée et l’échec de sa proposition pour une primaire de la gauche expliquent des intentions de vote déjà très faibles et créditées à moins de 2%. Du côté de Valérie Pécresse et de ses soutiens, l’am pleur de la déception et la surprise sont d’autant plus grandes, dans un premier tour où l’engouement aut our de la candidate s’est fait ressen tir à maintes reprises. L’enquête électorale 2022 réalisée par IPSOS révèle qu’en décembre 2021, celleci récoltait 17 % des intentions de vote au premier tour. Et bien que ce score n’a cessé de décroitre au fur et à mesure de la cam pagne, la neu vième vague de l’enquête (du 2 au 4 avril), soit une semaine en amont de la campagne, lui attribuait pour tant une intention de vote de 8.5 %, soit presque le double de son score avéré. L’écart est réellement con sidérable avec François Fillon, qui était arrivé en 2017 en troisième position, en récoltant 20.01% des suffrages. D’ailleurs, selon cette même enquête IPSOS, parmi les

Succès des ex trêmes, déclin des partis traditionnels: choc ou prévision ?

français qui ont voté pour François Fillon au premier tour de l’élection présidentielle de 2017, qui étaient certains d’aller voter au premier tour de l’élection présidentielle de 2022 et qui ont exprimé une in tention de vote, seulement 32 % d’entre eux avaient l’intention de voter pour Pécresse, contre 34% pour Emmanuel Macron et au to tal 28 % pour l’extrême droite. Ce transfert massif des votes vers le centre et l’extrême-droite témoigne de la difficulté que rencontre la droite républicaine à mobiliser son électorat traditionnel. Les rai sons pour une telle désaffection se trouvent tant du côté du fond que de la forme. Le flou idéologique et le manque de repères programma tiques clairs pendant la campagne, en tentant de s’attirer les faveurs d’un électorat diversifié, a fini par se retourner contre la candidate qui n’a pas su incarner une dynamique transcendante. Principalement en tre Eric Zemmour et le président sortant, Valérie Pécresse est passée dans l’ombre, asphyxiée des deux côtés, et menant les Républicains au plus bas score qu’ils n’aient ja mais obtenu lors d’une élection présidentielle. Du côté de la forme, on peut par exemple se rappeler de la difficulté qu’a expérimenté la candidate à galvaniser les foules lors de son meeting au Zénith, jugé “raté” pour beaucoup, y com pris elle-même. Notamment,le le ressenti d’un manque de naturel dans la prise de parole a joué en sa défaveur. N’ayant pas atteint, de même que Yannick Jadot, la barre des 5 % des voix pour le rembourse ment de sa campagne par l’Etat, la candidate, endettée personnellement à hauteur de 5 millions d’euros, s’en est remise à lancer un appel aux dons auprès des français.

Les reproches du premier tour

L’émergence de trois pôles, défiant la configuration traditionnelle de la vie politique française, s’explique

grandement par la stratégie du vote utile. Ainsi, la candidate d’extrême droite Marine Le Pen a pu béné ficier du vote utile de l’extrême droite, récupérant notamment un nombre de voix des soutiens d’Er ic Zemmour beaucoup plus im portant que ce que les sondages prédisaient. Emmanuel Macron a quant à lui, concentré en plus de son électorat initial une partie significative de celui de la droite républicaine classique, s’étant dé tourné de la candidature de Valérie Pécresse. Finalement, il est impos sible d’évoquer le rôle du vote utile sans mentionner son influence sur le score remarquable réalisé par La France Insoumise. La candidature de Jean-Luc Mélenchon a en ef fet été au centre d’une stratégie de concentration des différentes sensi bilités de la gauche, de mobilisation de masse, notamment encouragée par les réseaux sociaux auprès des jeunes. Malgré un score tout à fait éclatant, la stratégie du “vote utile” ne semble pas avoir permis au parti de se hisser au second tour. Au con traire, au vu de l’écart sensiblement petit qui séparait Jean-Luc Mélen chon de Marine Le Pen (un peu plus de 420 000 voix), la frustration provoquée a conduit à une profu sion des critiques envers certains candidats de gauche, notamment Fabien Roussel. Rappelons alors que les voix récoltées par celui-ci sont plus importantes que l’écart entre le Rassemblement National et La France Insoumise. De plus, l’échec de la Primaire Populaire qui avait pourtant initié une dy namique inédite a néanmoins vu la gauche plus dispersée que jamais pour la ligne de départ du premier tour, avec pas moins de 6 candidats. Finalement, ces éléments auront joué en défaveur du peu de voix qu’ils restait à Jean Luc Mélen chon pour accéder au duel final. D’ailleurs, si ce dernier a catégori quement refusé dès le début de reconnaître le score de la Primaire Populaire (étant inscrit “malgré lui”) pour divergences idéologiques importantes avec d’autres candidats

qui empêcheraient selon lui le suc cès et le réalisme d’une union de la gauche, peut-être y a t-il alors plu sieurs gauches.

Cette dispersion dans le grand camp de la gauche n’est pas le seul facteur ayant attisé la colère d’une partie des électeurs pendant ce premier tour. Le refus d’Emmanuel Macron de débattre avec les autres candi dats, une manière donc d’“esquiv er” la période de campagne prési dentielle, a fait beaucoup débat. Pour beaucoup, il s’agissait d’un moyen pour le président-sortant d’éviter de se confronter au bilan de son quinquennat écoulé, marqué par une fracture sociale importante et une série de crises inédites. Sauf que pour beaucoup également, cela empêche le débat démocratique et transparent nécessaire à la prise de décision des électeurs avant de se rendre aux urnes, et entacherait donc potentiellement la légitimité du résultat. Emmanuel Macron, lui, contre-argumente en rappelant la tradition historique des présidents qui l’ ont précédé, qui eux aussi ont mené leur campagne élector ale via d’autres moyens que celui du débat avec les autres candidats. En couplant cela a des éléments de contexte tels que l’émergence du conflit ukraino-russe ou la prési dence française au sein du conseil de l’Union Européenne qui le fa voriseraient, le président sortant à réussi à se hisser au second tour malgré un bilan quinquennal jugé désastreux pour un nombre impor tant de français.

Une redistribution des voix détermi nante

À l’annonce des résultats le diman che 10 avril et à seulement deux se maines du deuxième tour, les can didats écartés de la course n’ont pas attendu longtemps pour donner des consignes de vote à leur élector at. Dans un contexte où l’extrême droite accède pour la troisième fois de son histoire au second tour

de l’élection présidentielle, étant plus proche du pouvoir que jamais, certains candidats n’ont pas hésité à souligner la nécessité urgente d’empêcher le Rassemblement Na tional de se hisser en tête du scrutin le 24 avril. Les deux seuls candi dats éliminés au premier tour ayant appelé à se diriger vers Marine Le Pen sont sans grande surprise ceux d’extrême droite: Éric Zemmour et Nicolas Dupont-Aignan. En ce qui concerne les autres, cette volonté de lui faire barrage s’est exprimée par différentes stratégies. Pour certains, comme Valérie Pécresse, il s’agit de concentrer les voix vers le président-candidat, elle affirme alors: “Je voterai en conscience Emmanuel Macron pour empêcher l’arrivée au pouvoir de Marine Le Pen et le chaos qui en résulterait”, ce qu’ont également fait la social iste Anne Hidalgo ou encore l’écol ogiste Yannick Jadot. D’autres ont appelé à stopper la percée de Ma rine Le Pen sans pour autant inciter les électeurs à mettre dans l’urne le nom d’Emmanuel Macron. JeanLuc Mélenchon, dans une prise de parole brève et combative, a insisté plusieurs fois à la suite qu’”il ne faut pas donner une seule voix à Madame Le Pen”. Quant à Philippe Poutou, il a déclaré dans la même dynamique que “pas une voix ne doit aller à l’extrême-droite”.

Deux finalistes à l’image controversée

Bien que réunissant les deux mêmes candidats qu’il y a cinq ans, les dynamiques de l’entre-deux tours sont loin d’être les mêmes. Ce qui les sépare ? Un quinquennat. Et si l’on vient de constater qu’une rhétorique anti-FN n’est plus pour autant synonyme d’un encourage ment vis-à-vis du président sortant, c’est parce que ce dernier se trouve dans une situation beaucoup plus contestée qu’en 2017, avec un bilan quinquennal très débattu. Son mandat fut celui des crises et pour en citer quelques unes :

gilets jaunes, gestion de celle du coronavirus, crise de l’hôpital, ou encore tout récemment: guerre en Ukraine. Bon nombre de français lui reprochent au cours de ces cinq années au pouvoir d’avoir cristallisé les tensions au sein de la société française, et ne se reconnaissent donc pas ou plus dans le projet politique, économique et social qu’il propose. Ayant en face de lui une candidate d’extrême-droite dont la radicalité des idées n’est plus à prouver, bien qu’atténuée par l’émergence d’Eric Zemmour dans le champ politico-médiatique et la stratégie de dédiabolisation: le choix du second tour n’en était donc pas réellement un. Dans la dixième vague de l’Enquête électorale 2022 réalisée par IPSOS du 15 au 18 avril 2022, 35 % des personnes in terrogées n’envisageant pas d’aller voter lors du second tour de l’élec tion présidentielle expliquent le faire car aucun des deux candidats encore en liste ne correspond à leur attente. De plus, 24 % d’entre eux affirment ne pas aller voter car ils refusent de choisir entre deux can didats qu’ils rejettent totalement. Lorsqu’au cours de cette même vague, l’enquête s’intéresse aux raisons poussant ceux qui votent blanc ou nul à le faire, 49 % d’entre eux, soit presque la moitié, affir ment également qu’ils refusent de choisir entre deux candidats qu’ils rejettent totalement. En outre, lor sque IPSOS demande aux sondés de noter Emmanuel Macron et Ma rine Le Pen sur une échelle de 1 à 10, les deux candidats obtiennent respectivement une moyenne de 4,1 et de 3,8, ce qui démontre bien que la côte de popularité des deux finalistes chez les électeurs, via cet échantillon représentatif, n’est pas très haute.

Une campagne de l’entre-deux-trous sous l’angle de l’ad aptation

Au vu de ces éléments, les sondag es effectués prévoyaient un écart

entre le président sortant et Ma rine Le Pen beaucoup plus resser ré qu’en 2017. Cela, Emmanuel Macron ne pouvait pas l’ignorer, s’est donc opéré une changement de stratégie du candidat pendant l’entre-deux-tours. S’il est resté relativement discret pendant le premier tour, il a tenté pendant les deux semaines qui lui restait de convaincre au maximum l’élec torat qui lui était défavorable, surtout celui de gauche, déçu des cinq années passées au tournant néo-libéral. En effet, des thèmes à l’instar du bilan écologique, de la répression policière, des violences faites aux femmes, de la loi sur le séparatisme, du passage de l’ISF à l’IFI, de la réforme des retraites ou encore de la réforme du Code du Travail ont réellement fracturé la relation de confiance avec le président. Pourtant, c’est notam

ment la redistribution des votes de l’électorat de Jean-Luc Mélenchon qui allait être déterminante dans le résultat du second tour. Dans la dixième vague, lorsque IPSOS de mande aux électeurs de Jean-Luc Mélenchon au premier tour qui ils souhaitent voir gagner au second tour, plus de la moitié, 52 %, af firme ne pas vouloir voir gagner au cun des deux candidats. Seulement 32 % d’entre eux se prononcent en faveur d’Emmanuel Macron. Plus surprenant encore, un taux de 16 % se dit en faveur d’une victoire de Marine Le Pen, ce qui est con sidérable pour une candidate se sit uant à l’autre extrémité de l’échiqui er politique. Ce taux est d’ailleurs en hausse par rapport à 2017. L’ha bileté du Rassemblement Nation al à proposer une offre politique attrayante auprès des classes pop ulaires (même chez des individus

se situant initialement à gauche, ce qui démontre encore une fois l’évolution de ce clivage) a obligé le candidat de LREM a complété son programme pendant l’entre-deuxtours et à l’orienter vers des théma tiques qui parlent plus à ce type d’électorat. Il a donc dû essayé de nuancer certaines mesures phares de son programme mais jugées plus à droite à l’instar de la réforme aut our du Revenu de Solidarité Active (RSA) ou de la rigidité du projet sur la réforme à 65 ans. De plus, jugé assez isolé au sein du palais de l’Elysée pendant son mandat et distant pendant le premier tour, le président sortant avait une durée de temps réellement courte pour travailler sa proximité avec le peu ple français, notamment dans les zones où sa côté de popularité était bien inférieure à celle de candidats comme Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Il a

Marine Le Pen était membre du Parlement en 2016. Photo by European Union 2016 - European Parliament, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>

donc multiplié les déplacements et a tenu un seul et unique meeting à Marseille le 16 avril. Du côté de Marine Le Pen, ayant déjà effec tué de nombreux déplacements au cours de la campagne, il s’agissait davantage de se ressourcer et se préparer minutieusement pour le grand débat d’entre-deux-tours, moment déterminant du deuxième tour depuis 1974.

Le débat de l’entredeux-tours

Le face à face entre les deux final istes de l’élection présidentielle est un véritable moment démocra tique, qui laisse s’exprimer devant les électeurs différentes visions de la société. C’est un moment à ne pas manquer pour les candidats, bien évidemment sur le fond, mais également sur la forme. Dans le cadre d’une personnalisation tou jours plus importante de la vie politique et du développement massif de la culture des médias, le débat de l’entre-deux-tours est le moment clé de la communication et du marketing politique. En effet, au-delà des programmes politiques exposés, au-delà de ce qui relève de l’identification par le rationnel, ce moment est également celui de la mobilisation de l’affect par excel lence. Un ressenti plus volatile, plus instinctif. De fait, plus la balance entre la capacité de mobiliser le rationnel et l’affectif est équilibrée, plus le candidat a des chances d’être convaincant. Modéré par les jour nalistes Léa Salamé et Gilles Bou leau, le débat entre Emmanuel Ma cron et Marine Le Pen a mobilisé plus de 15 millions de spectateurs mercredi 20 avril, qui ont vu les candidats débattre sur les théma tiques suivantes: le pouvoir d’achat, la place de la France à l’internation al, l’écologie, la guerre en Ukraine, la sécurité, les retraites ou encore les institutions de la Cinquième République. Qui a donc le mieux réussi à défendre son projet et à convaincre les français ? Dans les heures qui ont suivi le débat,

l’opinion publique (au sens large) semblait converger vers un prési dent-candidat en supériorité dans

la connaissance des dossiers mais à l’attitude arrogante et à la posture inadaptée. Marine Le Pen, elle, a donné l’impression de se débrouill er bien mieux qu’en 2017 mais de s’être quand même faite dominée par son adversaire. Les résultats de l’enquête menée par IPSOS sont encore une fois intéressants à cet égard. Si en 2017, 56 % des per sonnes interrogées affirmaient que la prestation de la candidate pen dant le débat les a inquiétés, ce taux passe à seulement 35 % en 2022. De la même manière, quand un taux de 13 % affirmait en 2017 que Marine

Le Pen les avait rassurés pendant le débat, celui-ci passe aujourd’hui à 27 % contre 25 % pour Macron, ce qui témoigne de l’amélioration de son image et de sa capacité à convaincre depuis. Cependant, des instants-clés du débat ont semblé donner l’avantage à la République en Marche: faux départ, confu sion de données économiques par Marine Le Pen, mise en avant des emprunts aux banques russes par le Rassemblement National dans un contexte international tendu…

La candidate a dû continuer de se défendre comme elle le pouvait, cela a-t-il été suffisant ?

Les résultats du sec ond tour

En obtenant 58.6 % des voix contre 41.4 %, Emmanuel Macron devien dra donc le premier président sous la Cinquième République à effec tuer deux quinquennats à la suite.

Le taux qui le sépare de Marine Le Pen n’est plus que de 17.2 %, alors qu’il était de 32.2 % en 2017, soit

presque le double. Cet écart con sidérable témoigne encore une fois d’un profond changement du climat qui pèse dans la société, résultat à la fois du premier quinquennat de Macron et de la ba nalisation des courants d’extrême droite dans le champ politico-média tique. Au second tour, le taux d’abstention très élevé, ayant touché plus de 28 % des électeurs (contre plus de 26% pour le premier tour), est un in dicateur clair du sentiment de cri se de la représentation politique en France. De même, l’ensemble des votes nuls et des votes blancs représentent plus de 6% des voix. En couplant celui-ci à ceux ayant voté pour Emmanuel Macron pour contrer Marine Le Pen (42% selon IPSOS), Adrien Quatennens, sur le plateau de BFMTV, a réitéré face à la journaliste Apolline de Malherbe qu’Emmanuel Macron est “le prési dent le plus mal élu depuis 1969”, étant le détenteur d’un “projet d’une brutalité sociale sans nom.”

C’est une position qu’avait déjà défendu Jean-Luc Mélenchon le soir même des résultats, en soulig nant la “contrainte d’un choix bi aisé” qui accompagnera de nouveau une “monarchie présidentielle” pendant les cinq années à venir, bien que soulagé que l’extrême droite ne soit pas parvenue à ac céder au pouvoir. La prise de parole d’Emmanuel Macron, quelques in stants après l’annonce de sa réélec tion a fait référence plusieurs fois à ces facteurs. Le président, acclamé par une foule lui scandant “Et un, et deux, et cinq ans de plus!”, et après avoir remercié les français, effectue quelques clarifications. Appelant à ne pas siffler les militants du Ras semblement National, il rappelle qu’il n’est plus “le candidat d’un camp mais le président de toutes et tous.” Parallèlement, il assure avoir conscience du taux révélateur d’ab stention et du barrage qui a été fait à Marine Le Pen via un vote pour sa personne, il fait donc la promesse

que “cette ère nouvelle ne sera pas la continuité de ce quinquennat qui s’achève”. Assez convaincant pour l’opposition? Pas suffisant, pour elle, l’espoir est plus à mettre dans les prochaines élections législatives que dans un changement de poli tique du président réélu.

Le défi des législatives

Pour beaucoup de français déçus par l’issue du scrutin, les journées du 12 et du 19 juin s’annoncent dé cisives. Ce sont en effet les dates qui permettront d’élire les 577 députés de l’Assemblée Nationale, dont la majorité dégagée déterminera le Premier ministre ainsi qu’une par tie importante des politiques mises en place pendant le quinquennat. Si la succession rapide des élec tions présidentielles et législatives rend la probabilité d’une cohabita tion assez faible, cela n’est pas pour décourager les perdants de l’élec tion écoulée. En effet, bien que la victoire du prestigieux titre prési dentiel échappe pour la troisième fois au Rassemblement National, cette fois-ci encore plus étroite ment, Marine le Pen estime que le score obtenu par le parti est une “victoire éclatante”. Elle ajoute peu après : “nous lançons dès ce soir la grande bataille électorale des légis latives.” Pour Jean-Luc Mélenchon, c’est “le troisième tour” qui com menceait dès ce soir-là. Une lutte donc, presque plus importante que celle des élections présidentielles, menée entre les différentes sensi bilités politiques, et qui aura pour issue le renforcement ou le con tre-pied des politiques souhaitées par le président de la République. Une alliance entre La France In soumise et Europe Écologie Les Verts a déjà été conclue, Eric Zem mour quant à lui a appelé à une union des droites. En effet, JeanLuc Mélenchon et Marine Le Pen envisagent déjà avec beaucoup de sérieux le poste de Premier Minis tre. Seul le temps sera en mesure de nous dire ce qu’il en conviendra.

Marine le Pen estime que le score obtenu par le partiest une “victoire éclatante”.

Elle ajoute peu après :“nous lançons dès ce soirla grande bataille électoraledes législatives.”

Israel-Palestine Tension

Article by Hugo Lagergren, staff reporter

A surge of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories during the past month has stoked tensions between the two states. It has caused many to fear a repeat of the 11-day conflict that occurred last May, which resulted in the death of over 250 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.

Two weeks ago, Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during morning prayer, marking the most serious escalation at the holy site in over a year. Medics reported that over 158 Palestinians were injured during the raid, while hundreds more were detained.

Clashes at the holy site have continued between Palestinian Muslims and Israeli security forces, who claim to have just been dispersing a violent crowd that lingered after morning prayer on April 15.

However, eye-witnes ses told Al-Jazeera that Israeli forces entered the Mosque unprovoked and proceeded to “brutally” empty the compound, attacking staff, elders, and young people in the process.

Videos circulated online showing police using tear gas and stun grenades against worshippers, who hurled rocks back at the police. Other videos show people barrica ding themselves desperately within the Mosque to escape the violence.

The Israeli forces also fired rubber bullets into the crowds, wounding many, including a 21-year-old

Palestinian man named Walid al-Sharif. Al-Sharif recently fell into a coma after sustaining inter nal bleeding as a result of being struck in the head by one of the rubber bullets.

The Palestinian Authority and Jor dan, which has custodianship over Islam’s third holiest site, issued a joint statement condemning Israel and stating that it was responsible for a “dangerous and condemnable escalation that threatens to explo de the situation.”

Palestinian militant group Hamas

Israel to reevaluate its defense stra tegy by broadening the scope of its operations against Palestine. Indeed, a few days ago, Israel’s coordinator for Palestinian affairs, Ghassan Alyan, announced that Is rael would close the Erez Crossing, the only existing crossing con necting Gaza and Israel, which is essential for workers in Israel who live in Gaza.

Over 12,000 Gazans currently hold work permits that allow them to cross over to Israel and make a living. The removal of such access

Jerusalem to visit the Muslim and Jewish holy sites.

This uptick in visitors angered many Palestinians as they believed it violated the long-held conventi on that Jews could visit the Al-Aq sa Mosque, but not pray there. This raised tensions between the two communities and is a likely explanation for the terrorist attacks carried out earlier this month.

Israel has denied all accusations that it is looking to overturn this “status quo” by reaffirming its com mitment to the preser vation of the freedom of worship. However, its actions might sug gest otherwise.

The death toll of the recent violence has reached 38 and tensi ons between Israel and Palestine remain ext remely high as clashes continue in and around Al-Aqsa Mosque. Many Palestinians are fearful of a repeat of the deadly conflict that took place in May of last year.

also responded by launching a series of missile strikes against Is rael, which were intercepted by its defense system. Israel responded to this by launching a series of its own strikes, destroying a military facility within the Gaza strip that was allegedly used to build missile engines.

The violence comes after a series of terrorist attacks were carried out by Palestinian gunmen in Israeli cities, killing 14 Israeli citizens. These deadly attacks prompted

will undoubtedly have a huge fi nancial impact on Gaza, with many residents relying on the income of these workers. An Israeli radio station estimated that Palestinian losses will be around 1.5 million USD daily.

Tension between the two groups had been expected this year, as the Muslim holy month of Rama dan coincided with the Jewish celebration of Passover. These celebrations usually see an increa sed number of visitors coming to

Top United States diplomats have been sent to Israel to end “the cycle of violence.” However, Palestine has accused the US of wielding “limp diplomacy” and of double-standards compared to how the US has addressed the war in Ukraine.

With no resolution in sight, one is left to wonder whether this longterm regional conflict will ever be solved, or whether the tensions are doomed to erupt into a wider conflict that would hugely impact an already struggling Palestine.

Palestinian

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On Mentonese identity, the Ummah, and more:

Reflections on the Mentonese life with a former student

Article by Emilia Kohlmeyer, staff reporter

Another year at Sciences Po Men ton is ending. 2As are passing onto their next journey and 1As are taking on the responsibility of preserving the Mentonese student culture. The legacy of Soundproof, the campus party house, is being transferred to a new enthusiastic quadruplet, and many events, such as the collective chant-writing ses sion, represent a modicum of tra ditions which are transmitted over generations of Sciences Pistes.

Reflecting upon the months since I moved to Menton, I grasped the profound impact our small French Riviera town had on me. I would have never pictured the extent to which this student community would be able to shape us when I first arrived. Situated in a quaint bay amongst sun-kissed houses, Sciences Po Menton is truly a pecu liar place to spend two of the most impactful years of our lives. Many of us come here, leaving behind the safety of a familiar environment, to confront both the pleasure and pain of newfound liberty.

I was fortunate enough to discuss this strange Mentonese journey into adulthood with one of our very own alumni. Former-stu dent-turned-1A-sociology-pro fessor, Ismail Hamoumi has com pleted the full circle of the Menton experience and was kind enough to sit down with me to offer his reflec tions on the student life of his day.

The Menton experience could be described as both incredibly in tense and influential — a micro cosm of around 300 students from all over the world, sharing the same

buildings, streets, and social spac es. This has an enormous impact on social relations. Privacy is much more limited, as perfectly exempli fied by a 2A warning me not to gos sip on Rue Longue in my first week here. Indeed, not much of anything remains private in Menton, as it is routine to run into a minimum of three other students each time you leave your home. Hamoumi em phasized the profound effect this leaves on our process of identity construction. Leaving home as in quisitive and malleable adolescents provides us with the liberty to ex periment with new identities – ones that could potentially deviate from our familiar culture. Everything new we experience challenges our perception of self.

This is compounded by our nu merous daily social interactions with a highly international commu nity. Students leave Menton with a more stable sense of self, remarked Hamoumi. Our identities are only reinforced by the diversity of peo ple and thoughts that can be found

on our Menton campus.

But not everything has remained consistent. Menton has also wit nessed some changes in the six years since Professor Hamoumi graduated. The student body has increased by a third. Many more associations now contribute to the blooming social scene and, to my suprise , even the vivacious night life, a pillar of the Menton culture, is a fairly new phenomenon previ ously limited to Le Retro. In smail Professor Hamoumi’s era, social life was mostly confined to the outdoors, a few larger apartments, or nights in Monaco on which a memorable part of the night invari ably included 3 a.m. bus rides along serpentine roads, causing some al cohol and dizziness induced “inci dents.”

Conversely, many of the festivi ties of the last year took place in apartments. An iconic party spot in contemporary Menton is Sound proof — the student residence where wild nights sometimes start,

but always end. Professor Hamoumi cited a similar apartment from his time in Menton. But it is yet to be confirmed whether it was in the same building as Soundproof, or if they were just on the same street.

However, there remain a few notable constants be sides the integral role of the ummah and a lingering separation between the English and French track. It seems that the Mercedes Benz of the owner of the New Asian Store is a prod uct of the sponsorship of generations of Sciences Pistes’ late-night alcohol purchases.

The culinary scene of Menton has also not been subject to much change, including the tradition al takeout pizza from Volcano or dinners at Marrakech and Al Vec chio Forno. An honorable mention should also be awarded to our very own Michael Jackson, whose effer vescent presence is an integral part of Mentonese life and spirit.

It is clear that much in Menton seems to remain and accompany hundreds of Sciences Pistes well after their departure. As a rising 2A, it is clearer to me now how much responsibility weighs on us to pre serve the community we have cre ated and the traditions that mark our student life. Every generation of students has contributed a little piece of the ummah and once we leave a piece of our life will remain, kept alive by new eager students experiencing their own growth into adulthood and profoundly shaping their own identity.

The Sciences Po Paris, campus of Menton building evokes reflections for alumni and current students. Photo by Hugo Lagergren

Erosion of Brazilian Democracy

continued from page 1 — streaming in and out of a local gas station in abnormally large quantities. Officials believed that they had flagged a routine case of laundering in the nation’s capital and zeroed in on the usual suspect: small-time doleiros (black market dealers). What their investigation uncovered was even bigger and far more unsettling. What they found imprisoned presidents, bankrupted billionaires, and paved the way for Jair Bolsonaro’s election.

In 2014, Operation Lava Jato (Car Wash) was formally launched when police discovered a suspicious email correspondence in doleiro Alberto Youssef’s inbox. Youssef had been involved and apprehend ed on laundering counts in the past, but had proven to be quite the recidivist. The email in question discussed a Range Rover that the doleiro had recently bought. But, this was no above-board car pur chase. Youssef had bought a Range Rover for none other than the high profile Petrobras petroleum com pany executive, Paulo Roberto Costa. Under questioning, a somb er Youssef informed police, “If I speak, the Republic is going to fall.” And fall it did.

Operation Car Wash is Brazil’s larg est corruption scandal to date. The operation earned its name from being hatched at the Brasilia gas station and car wash. The scheme began as a way for the construction conglomerate, Odebrecht, to se cure constant and overly-lucrative business at the national petroleum company, Petrobras. To accom plish this, Odebrecht, the ringlead er of the scandal, developed a cartel of engineering companies which set inflated contract prices for pet

rochemical complex building pro jects. In custody, Costa revealed how this intricate scheme func tioned: first, Petrobras directors intentionally overpaid cartel con tractors for construction, drilling, exploration vessels, and refinery. Then, 1% to 5% of the profit from those shady contracts was fun neled into clandestine slush funds. Elected politicians (who inciden tally appointed Petrobras officials) were the beneficiaries of the funds and used them to finance personal agendas and election campaigns.

Bribes were the currency of Bra zil’s elite. Everyone involved in the scandal was paid off in cash, luxury automobiles, art, Rolex watches, yachts… Money cascaded into Swiss accounts, a bevy of oversea properties were purchased, elder ly mules, strapped with bricks of cash, flew from city to city, incon spicuously distributing bank notes.

By the time Operation Car Wash

was on law enforcement’s radar, Petrobras and Odebrecht had paid off over 16 companies, 1,000 poli ticians, 50 congressmen, and four former presidents (including Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula) with a whopping sum of $5.3 billion.

The victims of this kafkaesque scheme? Average Brazilians. Not only was the potency of their vote diluted by this operation, but their own tax dollars were funding it. No strangers to institutional corrup tion, Brazilians directed the entire ty of their rage at the once beloved former president, Lula, his succes sor, president Dilma Roussef, and other members of the Workers’ Party. The party was not the only culpable entity implicated in the scandal, but received the most pop ular backlash — and perhaps justi fiably.

The political group ascended to

power to fight Brazil’s seeming ly untreatable case of corruption. Yet, the disease only seemed to have metastasized in the Lula ad ministration. Elected in 2002, Lula suffered from having a minority Workers’ Party in congress. Al though he denies any knowledge of involvement in the scheme, Operation Car Wash would have allowed for the president to buy the support of small parties, thus permitting him to pass legislation through congress. The Lula admin istration improved the condition of working class Brazilians through policies that reduced poverty and increased social safety nets and en vironmental controls. He left office with an unprecedented approval rating of 80%. Lula attributes his success to securing a symbolic ma jority in congress through political allegiances. Instead, the immense progress he made was found to have a morally and legally unsound infrastructure. These findings even

Ex-Brazilian President Lula pictured during his tenureship in April 2006. Photo by Ricardo Stuckert, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>

tually culminated in his 2018 arrest. Brazilians have a complex relation ship with Lula — they continue to reap the benefits of his presidency while lamenting his hypocrisy. The true test of national sentiment will be reflected in the result of the up coming October presidential elec tions, which the now-released Lula has announced his candidacy for.

The imprisonment of Lula creat ed an easy path to victory for the fringe right-wing candidate, Jair Bolsonaro. Due to the elimination of his main opponent and his an ti-establishment, anti-corruption platform, Bolsonaro, sometimes referred to as the “Trump of the Tropics,” waltzed into office in spite of his notoriously racist, hom ophobic, and misogynistic public persona. However, the comparison to Trump is misleading. Despite sharing some qualities with the former United States president, Bolsonaro is more akin to the Phil ippines’ Rodrigo Duterte. And this makes him all the more danger ous. Unlike Trump, Bolsonaro and Duterte actually followed through with their alarming campaign trail claims.

Similarly to Duterte, Bolsonaro has an affinity for militarizing state po lice, cracking down on crime, and green-lighting extrajudicial kill ings. He waxes nostalgic for Brazil’s military dictatorship and has been openly threatening Brazil’s increas ingly tenuous checks and balances. According to United Nations hu man rights activist, Clément Ny aletsossi Voule, the Bolsonaro ad ministration encourages violence towards women, favela community leaders, journalists, quilombolas (Afro-Brazilians), and indigenous peoples. Bolsonaro shamelessly intimidates the Supreme Court, which has active investigations into his conduct, threatens his critics’ freedom of speech, and makes base less claims about fraud in the Bra zilian electoral system. To Voule, it is clear: the world’s fourth largest democracy hangs by a thread.

Brazilian

Independence Day, Bolsonaro proclaimed, before tens of thou sands of supporters, “Only God will remove me from power.” This ominous statement follows months of disinformation, propagated by Bolsonaro himself, about Brazil’s supposedly “fraudulent” electronic voting system. It has been speculat ed that such allegations intend to lay the groundwork for canceling the upcoming October 2022 elec tions or to contest a potential pres idential loss.

With the president trailing behind his perennial foe Lula in the polls, fears that Bolsonaro will refuse to accept defeat have increased. As such, Brazil’s top election authority, Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE), has invited the European Union and other international bodies to monitor the validity of the October elections. The EU plans to send a mission to Brazil this May to assess whether it can fulfill the duties of official observer.

From the outside, Operation Car Wash is a juicy scandal indeed. But at its core, it is a tragic case of government inefficiency. Lula was charged with serious crimes, to be sure, but the consequences of his alleged actions should not spell another Bolsonaro victory. Brazil might not survive it. Democracy becomes more fragile every day that Bolsonaro presides. His re cord-level deforestation is leaving the Amazon more vulnerable than ever. Climate expert, Marcio As trini, has determined that the for est will not be able to withstand another four years of a Bolsonaro presidency.

Brazilians are at a critical cross roads. On October 2, 2022 they may sow the seeds of their own destruction or secure their survival. But if Brazil has learned anything from its past, it is that the power should and must, lie in the right ful hands. The people must be the final deciders — not between Lula or Bolsonaro — but rather life or death.

Cheer Team

Article by Lilou d’Inca, guest re porter

Picture the cliché, Netflix-series ar chetype of the cheerleader: she is shaking a pair of pom-poms with an artificial smile incessantly stamped on her lips; her pretty face conceals nothing but a frivo lous, flighty personali ty; and the “sport” she practices is little more than a light-hearted introduction to the “real” games in sports tournaments.

If you have not yet wit nessed our unmissable Christmas show and BDE performance, the Sciences Po Menton cheerleaders are as far as possible from such a typecast. Yes, our cheerleaders are indeed incredi bly smiley and ebullient — in the gym, on the stage, and even in their daily lives — but not because they are shallow; rather, because they are proud to boast the skills, live ly character, and decidedly united spirit of their team.

to describe the cheer team this year is motivation. I know it’s quite common to say, but we really have a team which is consistently up for anything and everything. Very of ten, I have found myself super ener gized after training, no matter how shattered I could have been before

As per Thorsén’s words, Menton cheer is “not only a perfect creative outlet outside academia, but it has also most definitely equipped me with motiva tion and cheerfulness —” values which she looks forward to displaying in Nancy. Thus, allow yourself to be transported by the cheer team’s entrancing dance battles and hypnotizing canon movements.

it, simply because of the energy our cheerleaders bring.” Hellen agreed that the team is “an energetic and resilient group [that] shows support for each other and pushes through the many chal lenges we have faced together this

And, no, their bonds have not just been forged (or ruptured) by the permanent scars they share — from a stunting practice that dramatically ended with stitches for 1A Angeliki Vytogianni to the countless nose bleeds and bruises resulting from a few failed pyramids and backflips. The so-called “Um-Miauu” has also reinforced itself over the past eight months thanks to the unyielding dedication of its captains, 2As Fri da Hellen and Nikola Avramović, whose vibrant, bubbly personali ties have fostered the team’s intrin sic dedication and energy. Avramo vić affirmed, “the [most apt] word

2A cheer captain and flyer, Frida Hellen, performs a stunt during a team practice.

Photo courtesy of the cheer team

year as a team.” Such enthusiasm is not only shown by the captains, but by all cheerleaders. 1A Lise Thorsén said, “The Ummah is not fulfilled without the campus cheer

tion as one, which is both mar velous for a motivated team, but also a huge drawback if even one member of the team is missing.” Hellen added that, “practicing and

Due to poor financing and the overlap between the Sciences Po optional sports courses, the captains relied on their Um-miauu’s original initiatives to subsidize the purchase of pom-poms.

team. Beyond [being] a sport, the Um-Miauu fosters an immaculate spirit rendering cheer sessions the highlight of my Menton quotidian.” Cheerleading is indeed an integral part of its athletes’ routine since training is organized twice a week in the College Vento gymnasium and by the sea at Bastion — yes, even on the most piercingly windy nights. With such frequent sessions, a significant obstacle for the team has become, according to Avramo vić, “ensuring that everyone could make time in their busy schedules to attend practice. Many elements of cheer require the group to func

teaching each other stunting skills and dance routines for minicrit” requires all athletes to be present at practice, hence why “the biggest challenge has been to find a way to make the time demand feasible with everyone’s crowded schedule, as well as the lack adequate training facilities in such a small town.”

Speaking of facilities, Hellen and Avramović had to display utmost perseverance and creativity to complement the team’s drive and maintain the team’s professional appearance. “After Minicrit [was] canceled for two years, Nikola and I started almost from scratch with

no equipment and little experi ence,” said Hellen. “We faced mate rial and consequently institutional challenges, to say the least,” added Avramović.

Due to poor financing and the over lap between the Sciences Po op tional sports courses, the captains relied on their Um-miauu’s original initiatives to subsidize the purchase of pom-poms. As 1A Felipe Boitard — the team’s darling gossip boy — explained, “the cheer team turned to the students on campus and organized a fundraising auction, where members of the cheerlead ing team would auction out a date experience with them. Dates varied from making pizza with Viola to going on a scooter adventure to It aly with Greta. The night was filled with high-intensity auction battles between friends and potential love interests to get a date with a cheer leader! With the help of all the stu dents who showed up in support of the lovely cheerleaders, the team made much more than was expect ed and was thus able to buy the supply for the pom-poms. As much as it did not get the official support

of the campus, cheerleading is what brings life to the campus with their energy and enthusiasm, succeeding in gaining the support of the stu dents on campus and funding their road to Minicrit!”

Cheerleading will play a central role in the upcoming intercampus com petition in Nancy alongside other sports including football, volley ball, thèque, and more. The Men ton cheerleading team is thrilled to perform the fruit of its effort and re silience in an eight-minute upbeat, acrobatic choreography. In Hellen’s words, “the [personal evolution] of each member with regards to their dancing, gymnastics, and stunting skills, as well as the solidarity and hype among the athletes, continues to blow my mind, and I am beyond excited to show everyone the prod uct of our hard work at the end of May.”

Avramović said, “However cliché it sounds, it was thanks to the cheer team’s enthusiasm that we felt con fident to fight for what the team needed. I am certain this has left our team much more tightly bound than ever, and really drives us to carry the Menton spirit at minic rit!”

As per Thorsén’s words, Menton cheer is “not only a perfect creative outlet outside academia, but it has also most definitely equipped me with motivation and cheerfulness —” values which she looks forward to displaying in Nancy. Thus, allow yourself to be transported by the cheer team’s entrancing dance bat tles and hypnotizing canon move ments. But, above all, remember to appreciate the unified and enrich ing fusion of cultures, personalities, and backgrounds that will emerge from our dances, from the unique and friendly community that is Sciences Po Menton cheerleading team.

The cheer team takes a picture after one of its biweekly practice. Team members include Alva Can, Angeliki Vytogianni, Barbara Kuza-Tarkowska, Ben Vitenson, Cécile Toussaint, Daniel Santana, Felipe Boitard Barragan, Frida Hellen, Greta Murgia, Gabriella Hodes, Isabel Cronin, Krzysztof Kałużny, Lenora Dsouza, Lilinaz Hakimi, Lilou-Ornella D’Inca, Lise Thorsén, Lydia Juline, Nikola Avramović, Salim Ouaritini, Vanessa Lolomari, Viola Luraschi, Zélie Savinien. Photo courtesy of the cheer team

From the Streets of Greece to the Côte d’Azur

A canine success story

Article by Celeste Abourjeili, Ed itor-in-Chief and Ata Tezel, guest reporter

Just months ago, famed campus dweller, Ollie, was your average street dog in Greece. No longer. Ol lie is better traveled than most of his human counterparts. From Greece, he made his way to the sunny Côte d’Azur. He spends his days lazing about the illustrious Sciences Po campus of Menton — a university that, with a less than 20% accept ance rate, many of us struggled to get into. But Sciences Po is just a temporary stop on Ollie’s journey to New York City, where he will ul timately reside.

Ollie is many things: he is a chron ic gnawer, a frequent park-goer, a champion hide-and-seeker, and a people person — though he’s still shy around other dogs. But these skills are not just any canine hobbies, according to his owner, professor Daniel Traficonte. These tendencies stem from the survival skills Ollie developed living on the streets and were essential to his es cape.

“He used his cuteness to survive in the streets and get fed by locals,” said Traficonte. One part of the strategy is that Ollie never barks and is tame around people. Anyone kind enough to pet him may even bear witness to his go-to two-leg

ged dance move.

Though Ollie re fused to comment on this, Traficonte asserts that a main cause of Ollie’s suc cess had to do with his breed and size. “He’s small enough to fit easily on a plane but also looks big enough to give a big dog vibe,” said Traficonte, describ ing the compromise he had to make with his wife to meet their differing desires in a dog. In fact, the couple had to do an intensive internet search to find a dog fitting this vision. The Kokoni, a native Greek breed, was the solution they found on an obscure Facebook group. They journeyed to Greece. The rest is history.

“I want to breed these in New York,” said Traficonte, arguing that if Americans knew about these perfect house dogs, everyone would own one. Though Traficonte’s career as a future dog breeder is up in the air with his wife opposing the career choice, one thing is certain: Ollie is going to love New York, and New York is going to love him back.

season per year.. Nevertheless, we asked Ollie whether he was excited for New York. He answered with an inquisitive stare, eyes wide open and tail rapidly wagging — a fitting response for the Odysseus of dogs.

Ollie is many things: he is a chronic gnawer, a frequent park-goer, a champion hideand-seeker, and a people person — though he’s still shy around other dogs. But these skills are not just any canine hobbies, according to his owner, professor Dan iel Traficonte.

“We haven’t told [Ollie] yet,” Trafi conte said regarding the family’s eventual move to the Big Apple. There, Traficonte will commute upstate to work as a tenured pro fessor at Syracuse University one

With a brand new chapter on the horizon for Ollie, the Mentonese are bittersweet about his upcoming departure. “It’s tough to see him leaving just as we became so close,” said one emotional Sciences Piste. “Nonetheless, it will be incredible to watch him live the American Dream!” Only time will tell what Ollie will achieve in New York, but for now, he wishes for nothing but friends and trips.

Professor Daniel Traficonte poses with his dog Ollie in front of Sciences Po.

Photo by Hugo Lagergren

Photo by Hugo Lagergren

Comprendre la Mafia:

looking back to the Day of Remembrance, looking forward to a weekend of anti-mafia resistance

Comprendre la Mafia runs a number of workshops which promoted awareness for Mafia victims during the weekend of April 23. Photo courtesy of Comprendre la Mafia

Article by Greta Murgia, guest re porter on behalf of Comprendre la Mafia

The year is coming to an end and each one of us, whether 1A or 2A, English or French track, dual de gree or three year program, is look ing back on the year. We are making a mental account of the events, the ups and the downs, the achieve ments, and the instances of growth. So is Comprendre la Mafia, Men ton’s young anti-mafia association, founded only two years ago. Between interven tions in Italian and French schools, articles, confer ences, debates, and bake sales, the association is now organizing a joint weekend with the youth group of Libera Bologna to be held in Men ton between the 23rd and 24th of April. During this weekend, the uni fying force will be the anti-mafia resistance and the determination to spread knowledge

to render people conscious of the presence of mafias — not only in the movies or in rural southern It aly, but also, and especially, in our idyllic Franco-Italian Riviera. After Saturday’s events, which will take place in Menton, the two associ ations will meet the president of Libera Imperia, Maura Orengo, in the city of Imperia. The president will hold a speech about the mafia in the Ligure Ponent, which will be followed by a lunch on the beach to conclude the weekend.

Students from Sciences Po and the Università degli Studi di Bologna will come together as one to dis cuss the mafia from its birth to its globalization and internationaliza tion, to the daily civic engagement exercised by non-profit associa tions dedicated to the sensibiliza tion of citizens and the condem nation of the mafia on local and national territory. One example of this civic engagement can be seen in Libera. Born as an association

unifying the survivors of mafia and relatives of victims of organized crime, Comprendre la Mafia is now the most important and vocal asso ciation engaged in the fight against the mafia, not only in Italy, but in all of Europe.

On the 21st of March, Comprendre la Mafia celebrated mafia victim Remembrance Day by organizing a march from the Sciences Po Men ton campus to the Italian border. There, followed by Nice-Matin and Sanremo News, it met members of Libera Ventimiglia, Sanremo, Imperia, and SPES of Ventimiglia, an association dedicated to help ing people with disabilities. Sev eral other Mentonese associations joined the march, such as the Fem inist Union, Sciences Po Refugee Help, UNICEF, Environnementon, Alwanat, Union de la Gauche et des Ecologistes, and Bureau Des Arts.

On the border, the names and lives of some mafia victims were hon ored. Memorials were handwrit ten on the road to immortalize the mafia victims upon entry into Italy.

The Italian, French, and Europe an anthems were then played in a sign of cross-country solidarity. To conclude, a lunch was held, hosted by the SPES of Ventimiglia and its director Matteo Lupi. Present were personalities such as the Tribunal Court Attorney in Imperia, Alber to Lari, Imperia’s Prefect, Armando Nanei, the Police Commissioner in Imperia, Giuseppe Felice Periore, the Director of Public Safety, Gi useppe Cucchiara, the President of Caritas Ventimiglia-Sanremo, Mau rizio Marmo, the Witness of Justice Rocco Mangiardi and Colombian clergyman, Don Rito Alvarez, who is one of the main figures engaged in providing aid to migrants in Ven timiglia.

With more events to come and awareness to be spread, Compren dre la Mafia can consider itself satis fied with its successes this past year. Its members are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the association and for the Mentonese community.

Protestors brandish a flag which said “LIBERA,” meaning free in Italian. Photo courtesy of Comprendre la Mafia

Students and adults gather on the Franco-Italian border to protest the behavior of the mafia and remember those who fell victim to the organized crime.

Photo courtesy of Comprendre la Mafia

Vagina Show

Article par Aïcha Yahaya, chroniqu euse invitée

Pourquoi un Vagina Show ?

Inspiré de la pièce de théâtre “Les Monologues du vagin” de l’auteure new-yorkaise Eve Ensler, le Va gina Show a pour but principal la création d’un espace libre pour les femmes, mais également pour les hommes ! A l’image de cette référence du féminisme contemporain, l’idée est avant tout de prôner la libération de la parole, et ce, par divers moyens. En effet, si le mon ologue occupe une place centrale, le Vagina Show n’en est pas moins resté ouvert à des formes d’arts diverses et variées entre danse, notamment menée par le club de Belly Dance, des chants spécialement préparés le Bureau des Arts, des poèmes et autres per formances en tout genre laissant à chacun l’opportunité de faire ressortir sa créativité et ses talents cachés.

De quoi parle-t- on ?

Le choix du sujet est tout aussi li bre ! Il existe mille et une façons d’exprimer sa féminité/masculinité et la question du genre et de la sex

ualité de manière générale. Cette année, nos participant.e.s ont fait preuve d’inventivité et de toujours plus d’originalité dans leurs choix d’interprétation. Se réapproprier un monologue, créer un poème ou encore reprendre une chanson: tous les moyens étaient bons pour prendre la parole.

Les thèmes furent tout aussi multi ples, traiter de l’intersectionnalité, de la condition des femmes selon les pays et/ou parler de leurs corps, tout cela en suivant un même princ ipe : au diable le politiquement

correct ! Parce qu’évoquer ces dif férents sujets dans tout ce qu’ils ont de plus réel, et parfois de brutal, ne devrait pas être un tabou, le Vagina Show se veut être la scène qui of fre à chacun et chacune le droit de porter sa voix à plus grande échelle, devenant ainsi le théâtre d’une ode à la liberté d’expression.

Plus qu’un moyen de s’exprimer, un moyen de partager

Si exprimer sa pensée a pu être libérateur pour nos artistes, du côté du public, l’expérience fut davan tage instructive et enrichissante. Cette promenade artistique proposée par nos intervenants a en effet pu nous ouvrir à de nou velles formes d’expression et à de nouvelles facettes de la féminité. Le Vagina Show, c’est donc aus si un événement d’échange et de découverte pour chacun et cha cune, toujours dans une ambiance chaleureuse et vivante propre à la Feminist Union !

Ce qu’il faut donc retenir

Cette année, le Vagina Show a pu se tenir en présentiel pour la première fois depuis 2019, nous offrant ain si un grand moment de de partage dynamique, vivant et marqué par la sororité inhérente à cet évène ment unique sur notre campus. Liberté, art et femmes formaient les maîtres-mots de cette soirée si spéciale, ne laissant aucune place à la gêne et la honte, prônant au contraire la parole libérée de toute censure et de tout blâme.

Il apparaît tout naturellement important de remercier dans un premier temps toutes nos partic ipant.e.s pour leurs présentations plus que remarquables ayant fait de cette soirée un événement inou bliable pour plus d’un. La vivacité et l’enthousiasme dont le public a fait preuve tout au long de la soirée ont aussi contribué à rendre le Va gina Show si agréable et en faire un véritable succès cette année encore.

The belly dancing group gives a performance during the Vagina Show. Photo courtesy of the Feminist Union

Second year students Zelie Savinien, Mahaut de la Brosse, Lola Corbier and Manon Bleriot from the Feminist Union pictured on stage at the event which they organised.

Photo courtesy of the Feminist Union

UEJF Trip to Israel

Article by Lionel Chambon, guest reporter

In early February, I was approached by the Union des Étudiants Juifs de France (UEJF) Menton Chap ter president, 2A Cécile Toussaint, about a potential week-long trip to Israel. I was both surprised and honored. I quickly found that noth ing stood in the way of embarking on what would become an amazing week of visits, events, talks, and time spent with a wonderful group of people, many of whom I had not met before. The trip was organized by the national board of the UEJF in conjunction with Sciences Po’s UEJF Paris and Menton chapters. UEJF had invited campus associ ations, be they political, cultural, or environmental, to send one or two representatives to take part in the trip. For a week, we would ex plore Israel’s historic sites, meet

with members of Israel’s civil soci ety, and enjoy spending time in the region that us Mentonese students have been studying so passionately.

On February 28, early in the morn ing, the whole group met for the first time in Orly Airport. Trave ling alongside the Sciences Po stu dents was a group of students from Sorbonne-Paris I. By the early after noon, we arrived at Ben Gurion In ternational Airport. Despite one of us having Lebanese stamps in our passport, we all managed to clear customs, pass a mandatory PCRtest and get to our first destination, Neve Shalom, by the early evening.

A village situated between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Neve Shalom was founded in 1969, designed to ac commodate inhabitants from all backgrounds. In 2006, Roger Wa ters (Pink Floyd) held a concert

there, attracting a crowd of around 40,000 people. Neve Shalom pre sented a great opportunity for us to settle in and get to know each other. There, we were introduced to our guide for the week, Moty Likwornik, who has been a guide in Israel for several decades and has even accompanied foreign govern ment delegations. Moty talked to us about Israel’s history, its ancient civilizations, and geography. We got to appreciate the countryside and excellent Middle Eastern food. Not only would Moty stick with us the entire week and share his ex pertise on the region, but also en tertain us during bus rides with an ecdotes and gossip he accumulated over the years.

We spent the following Tuesday, our first full day in Israel, in Jerusa lem. In the morning, Moty guided us across Mount Zion into Jeru

salem’s holy sites, which we were fortunate enough to visit in great weather and not too much commo tion. From the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock to the Wall of Lamentations and the Holy Sep ulcher, it was incredible to walk across the historical sites which have been at the root of civiliza tion for thousands of years. Visiting these holy sites was a touching ex perience for many of us, especially Muslims and Jews. For many, this was the first time they were able to visit their religions’ holy sites. The Wall of Lamentations is allegedly all that is left of an ancient Jewish temple destroyed by the Babylo nians, located not far from what is left of Mount Golgotha, where Je sus was once crucified. During the day, we also had some time to dive into one of Jerusalem’s Souqs, and discovered more of the local cui sine and arts scene. For many Jews

The group poses in front of Jerusalem’s Western Wall, a sacred site in Judaism. Photo courtesy of UEJF

in the group, it was their first time visiting Israel, making the explora tion of the holy sites all the more special.

In Jerusalem, we also had the oppor

day, we visited Jerusalem’s Hadas sah hospital and met a French-Is raeli surgeon. It was enriching to hear from actors within Israeli civil society who experience all kinds of difficulties and conflicts, but also

When studying the Middle East, it is always enriching to visit the region to build on what we have learned in the lecture room. Visiting Israel has definitely contributed to my understanding of the region, its dynamics, and itsconflicts.

tunity to meet a Palestinian lawyer specialized in human rights law and an Israeli peace activist to discuss challenges Palestinian populations face within Israel, segregation, ine qualities, and possible avenues for dialogue. For our final step of the

opportunities to work together to complete meaningful work in the hospital on a daily basis.

The following morning, we were greeted at the Hebrew University, one of Sciences Po’s Israeli partner

institutions. There, we commemo rated the victims who died during a Hamas bombing of the university cafeteria during the Second Intifa da, including David Gritz, who was a Sciences Po exchange student at the time. We listened to testimo ny from Dror Even-Sapir, who sat only a few chairs down from David and survived the attack. Today, he works as a journalist in Israel and France. We also met Benjamin Canet, a former president of the UEJF Sciences Po and Israeli citi zen.

After leaving the university, we were supposed to visit the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. But, this was unfortunately cut from our agenda as an important vote took longer than expected and the depu ties that had agreed to meet with us were no longer available.

Nevertheless, we were able to look at the Knesset from the outside before we moved on to our visit of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Shoah re membrance site. There, we met Shlomo Balsam, our museum guide and Shoah survivor, who shared his own story with us, as well as that of many other survivors he had met — stories of lives destroyed, immeasura ble loss, suffering, and des peration. Yad Vashem ex plained the Shoah through the perspective of those who had lived it by exhibit ing artifacts and possessions that survivors had donated to the museum. No newspa per article could do justice to the thoughts and emotions that washed over us at Yad Vashem. Upon leaving, the mood among our group was despondent. The drive from the remembrance site into the Negev desert was the only outing in the entire week during which the bus remained silent.

Nevertheless, we finished the day with a warm welcome in the Negev by a Bedouin tribe that hosted us. We were fortunate to enjoy some traditional coffee, tea, and foods by a campfire. But, it was only after the sunrise that we truly grasped the breathtaking scenery that sur rounded us.

The Negev surrounds the Dead Sea and stretches across Israel and Jor dan. That Thursday, we woke up at 3:30 a.m. to climb Mount Masada in time for the sunrise. Masada is a very mythical place in Israeli and Jewish history, having been one of the last bastions of the Jews against Babylon. Up there, the view across the desert into Jordan and the Dead Sea is breathtaking, and Moty guid ed us through Masada’s ancient ru ins.

Next, we descended Masada and relaxed by the Dead Sea for the rest of the morning, which was sur prisingly cold, yet very enjoyable under the desert’s beaming sun. From the Dead Sea, we headed West to the Arab-Israeli village of Abu Gosh. We were greeted by the

A market in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem.

Photo courtesy of UEJF

The Western Wall is a popular destination for Jews around the world.

Photo courtesy of UEJF

town’s mayor, a Chechen Imam, a Catholic priest, and the French Consul-General of Jerusalem. Abu Gosh is known to host all religious communities. The mayor of the village stayed with us and shared insights on what governing such a diverse city was like before we de parted for Tel Aviv later that night.

Tel Aviv is Israel’s economic center. It is barely 100 years old and was built with socialist inspirations before gradually growing into a booming metropolis. Moty showed us Tel Aviv’s historical center and places such as Dizengoff Avenue, named after Tel Aviv’s first mayor, and Ben Gurion House, home of Israel’s founder and first prime min ister. We also had the chance to dis cover Tel Aviv’s Souq before meet ing with the French ambassador to Israel, Eric Danon. He talked to us about the war in Ukraine, chang

ing dynamics in the Middle East following US disengagement, the

for many to learn more about Jew ish traditions and customs.

signing of the Abraham Accords, and France’s role in the region. We also met Denis Charbit, a leading French political scientist on Isra el and the history of Zionism. We concluded the day by celebrating Shabbat together, an opportunity

During Shabbat, the day of rest, most of us used the opportunity to freely walk around Tel Aviv and discover other parts of the city. Some headed to Yaffa, where the beautiful coastline along the Mediterranean Sea could be admired. On the walk to Yaffa, our surroundings shifted to more heavily re flect the Palestinian and Arab culture and lifestyle. After Shabbat was over, we had the occa sion to dive into Tel Aviv’s nightlife, which is also one of its most popu lar attractions.

On our last day in Israel, we met

students from Tel Aviv University and paid tribute to Ytzhak Rabin, a former prime minister murdered by an Orthodox nationalist in 1994, who was heavily involved in the signing of the Oslo Accords.

After six days packed with experi ences and memories, it was time for us to head back to the airport for our flight back to Paris. When studying the Middle East, it is always enriching to visit the region to build on what we have learned in the lecture room. Visit ing Israel has definitely contributed to my understanding of the region, its dynamics, and its conflicts. I would like to thank the UEJF France and the UEJF of Sciences Po, especially Cécile Toussaint, for their hard work and dedication in making this trip possible and acces sible to all of us. It was definitely a week to remember.

As well as Jerusalem, the group visited the beautiful surrounding area. Photo courtesy of UEJF

UEJF had invited campus as sociations, be they political, cultural, or environmental, to send one or two representatives to take part in the trip. For a week, we would explore Israel’s histor ic sites, meet with members of Israel’s civil society, and enjoy spending time in the region that us Mentonese students have been studying so passionately.

Sports Recap — April 2022

Article by Hugo Lagergren, staff reporter Football

As the season reaches its climax, the battle between Liverpool and Manchester City for domestic and European glory is showing no sign of letting up. In their second meeting of the Premier League se ason, the two teams played out an exhilarating 2-2 draw, in what was described by many as the game of the season. One week later, however, Liverpool overcame Pep Guardiola’s side with a dominant first half display to reach their first FA Cup final under Jurgen Klopp. This keeps its hopes of completing a historic quadruple alive.

The Champions League quar ter-finals saw some serious upsets, as Villareal managed to eliminate favorite Bayern Munich with a late goal from Samuel Chukwue ze, setting up a semi-final against Liverpool. Karim Benzema maintained his brilliant form by eliminating the defending cham pions, Chelsea, with a devastating hat-trick, sending Real Madrid th rough. Real Madrid will play Man City, as Pep tries to win the only trophy that has eluded him during his time at City.

The Europa League, UEFA’s second tier competi tion, also produced a number of shock results. The biggest was Eint racht Frankfurt’s defeat of Barce lona at the Camp Nou. West Ham

United and Red Bull Leipzig also won their respective quarter-finals.

struggling AS Roma.

With only four games remaining, and just one point separating Chel sea and Arsenal, the tension is ri

Possibly the biggest surprise of the competition was Glasgow’s Rangers reaching the semi-finals of a European tournament. This is the first time a Scottish side has reached the last four since 2008.

Following a poor display of form, OGC Nice dropped out of contention for the Champi ons League, despite reaching the final of the French Cup. This has undoubtedly damp ened the mood on the Côte D’Azur, as Nice look likely to miss out on the top-tier of European football, once again.

In the inaugural season of the Europa Conference League, Euro pe’s terti ary club football compe tition, Olym pique de Marse ille, has managed to reach the se mi-finals, where it will play Dutch side Feyenoord. Leicester City defeated PSV to set up a semi-final against Mourinho’s

With 29 out of the 32 teams having already qualified for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, FIFA completed the draw of the group stages, clas sifying the 32 possible contenders into 8 groups. This decides the paths each team must take if they are to reach the World Cup final.

Following a poor display of form, OGC Nice dropped out of conten tion for the Champions League, despite reaching the final of the French Cup. This has undoubtedly dampened the mood on the Côte D’Azur, as Nice look likely to miss out on the top-tier of European football, once again. With six games left in the season, none of which are against teams currently in the top five, Nice are looking to reverse its poor form by taking the maximum number of points possible whilst also hoping that the teams above them drop points.

sing in the Women’s Super League, as Arsenal attempts to steal the title off Chelsea. Defending champions Chelsea, who have held the title for two years running now, will be without star striker Fran Kirby for the rest of the season. Her absence, according to Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, can be attributed to a case of “fatigue.”

In the Women’s FA Cup, Chelsea beat rivals Arsenal comfortably to reach the final, where they will play Man City at Wembley.

On March 22, FC Barcelona announced a four-year partnership with UNHCR. Audiences will see the UN Refugee Agency’s logo appear on the back of the Barce lona kit. Moreover, the Barcelona Foundation pledged to supply UNHCR with an annual €400,000 cash contribution and an additi onal annual €100,000 worth of

Jurgen Klopp (pictured left) and Pep Guardiola (pictured right) battle each other in England after years of versing in Germany. Photo by Mehdi Bolourian, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>

sports equipment and technical expertise.

Barcelona has a history of philanthropic partnerships with the UN – collaborating with the intergovernmental organization for unconventional kit sponsorships. Many will remember the iconic Barcelona kits with the UNICEF logo displayed on the front, which the team used from 2006 to 2010.

slightly tense during the tie breaker of the second set. The world num ber five described himself “very proud” as he won his first trophy of the season, a feat he hopes will kickstart his 2022 campaign.

Golf

La saison des Invincibles

On March 22, FC Barcelona announced a four-year part nership with UNHCR. Audi ences will see the UN Refu gee Agency’s logo appear on the back of the Barcelona kit.

On April 10, American golfer, Scottie Scheffler won his first green jacket by championing the 86th PGA Masters tourna ment, holding off late pushes from Cameron Smith and Rory McIlroy. Last year, Scheffler finis hed 18th and his highest finish at any previous major was fourth place.

Formula 1

Ferrari continued its dominant form by clinching a double podi um at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix behind Max Verstappen (Lec lerc 2nd, Sainz 3rd). They earned their second win of the season at the Australian Grand Prix in Mel bourne, where Leclerc stormed to his fourth career win.

Max Verstappen retired with engine issues in Melbourne for the second time this season, exacer bating worries surrounding Red Bull’s reliability. Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, label led the issue “desperately frustra ting,” as Red Bull struggles to keep up with the pace of the Ferraris.

However, Red Bull managed to reestablish themselves at Imola, where they achieved their first one two finish since Malaysia 2016, with Max Verstappen taking the victory.

Tennis Stephan Tsitsipas beat Davidovich Fokina to win his second Monte Carlo title in a row. The Greek tennis player took victory in stra ight sets, 6-3, 7-6, despite looking

However, much of the golfing world’s attention was on Tiger Woods. Woods made a surprising return following a serious car crash in February 2021, during which he sustained several serious leg injuries.

American Sports

The NBA playoffs are now un derway, with the Phoenix Suns as the favorite to win this year. Last year’s champions, the Milwaukee Bucks will be looking to defend their title. However, the Suns have put up a dominant display during the regular season by setting a franchise record for the most wins in a single season.

The NHL approaches the Stanley Cup playoffs with many teams filling playoff spots, including the New York Rangers who have qualified for a place in the playoffs for the first time in five years. Last year’s finalist, the Montreal Canadians, have struggled and are currently bottom of the Atlantic Division, with qualification for the playoffs far out of reach.

Article par Samy El Maloui, chro niqueur invité

Le bruit du ballon en cuir qui roule sur le terrain synthétique. Les éclats de voix, pour exprimer la désapprobation face à un geste raté ou l’émerveillement suivant un dribble chaloupé. La sueur stig mate de l’engagement des joueurs sur le pré (ou le cardio aberrant de certains, mais c’est un autre sujet). Les premiers automatismes qui se forgent et les premières affinités qui se créent. Le temps était doux en cette soirée qui marque la fin du mois d’août et tout doucement celle de l’été. La semaine d’intégra tion, les rencontres entre 1A et 2A (voire 3A un peu trop accrochés à la perle de la french riviera), l’agitation estudiantine dans la cité mentonnaise, mais surtout, la reprise de la pratique du sport roi pour les lions des Alpes. La rareté du fait donne de la valeur à la chose. Après quasiment un an d’arrêt en raison d’une pandémie qui avait mis un terme dès octobre 2020 à la rencontre, à l’interaction, au contact, à la vie en somme. Mais enfin, c’était le moment. Nous étions fringants. Après deux mois de vacances où certains traînèrent leurs carcasses à Dubaï et d’autres en Franche-Comté (grand respect pour le Football Club de Sochaux Montbéliard nonobstant), les mines étaient pleinement revita lisées, les jambes fourmillantes à l’idée d’un objectif. Le seul, l’unique, celui qui prenait toute la place dans les esprits et surtout celui du néo-capitaine : le Minicrit. Devenu un mythe pour certains, la compétition fétiche des campus de

Sciences Po avait semblé avoir dis paru pendant deux longues années estampillé COVID-19. Les joueurs étaient donc logiquement surmoti vés à l’idée de se frotter aux dijon nais, havrais, nancéiens, parisiens, poitevins et autres rémois. Mais avant cette perspective excitante, il s’agissait de s’entraîner dur pour ar river prêt et ne pas être frauduleux à Nancy, ville d’accueil du Minicrit pour cette année. Ainsi s’enchaînè rent les séances, montrant le talent exacerbé de certains, destinés aux plus grandes carrières mais qui se retrouvaient sur ce terrain de foot

à 5 miteux dans une ville peuplée en majorité de vieillards séniles. Les semaines passèrent, au gré du passage au temps automnal puis hivernal, l’obscurité de la nuit qui arrivait de plus en plus tôt, la pré sence de certains qui se faisaient de plus en rare, en corrélation avec le

Nour Dermoug reçoit le ballon pendant un entraînement de l’équipe Photo courtesy of BDS

froid mordant qui avait remplacé la brise chaleureuse de l’été révolu. Le mois de novembre marquait un match contre l’école de commer ce niçoise de l’IPAG dont vous connaissez sûrement l’épilogue : rappelons que ces cuistres de futurs dévots à la start-up nation ne méritaient sûrement pas de l’emporter mais sans rancune, nous avions un joueur de champ et accesso irement danseur émérite dans les buts. Mais alors que l’année battait son plein et que nous nous approchi ons tout doucement de la fin du premier semestre, un constat clair et net s’imposait dans les esprits. Pourquoi diable ne pourrait-on pas s’entraîner sur le non moins célèbre stade Lucien Rhein, celui-là même que El Pibe

de Oro, Diego Maradona, avait foulé de ses pas en mai 1995 ?

L’administration ne semblait pas vouloir répondre à nos revendications légitimes, celles de perpétuer l’héritage pré-Covid de nos prédéces seurs qui s’entraînaient lors des matinées du cinquième jour de la semaine... Alors que l’espoir semblait mort et enterré, et que le rêve de se mouvoir sur le terrain syn thétique du plus beau stade de la ville s’éloignait de plus en plus, le deuxième seme stre avait apporté son lot de miracles.

Notre capitaine, fort de ses talents de persuasion et négociation, se lançait alors dans ce qui serait un bras de fer avec celle-dont-on-nedoit-pas-citer-le-nom, la terrible, l’infernale, la coriace… administra tion. Par respect pour ses membres qui ne sont pas tous à blâmer dans cette affaire, nous uti liserons unique ment ce terme plus général désignant l’institu tion à l’o rigine de tous nos atermo iements. S’encha inèrent un premier mail,

deux mails, trois mails, quarante, deux-cent cinquante, trois-mille quarante… mais toujours pas de réponse satisfaisante et la lassitude commençait tout doucement à faire son lit. L’admi nistration ne semblait pas vouloir répondre à nos revendications légitimes, celles de perpétuer l’héritage pré-Covid de nos prédécesseurs qui s’entraînaient lors des matinées du cinquième jour de la semaine. Le créneau était même en temps normal entière ment alloué à cet effet alors que nous avions, pour notre part, l’obli gation d’assister à des cours plus ou moins monotones. Alors que l’espoir semblait mort et enterré, et que le rêve de se mouvoir sur

le terrain synthétique du plus beau stade de la ville s’éloignait de plus en plus, le deuxième semestre avait apporté son lot de miracles. Mal heureusement, M. Amouri n’était pas toujours pas venu nous grati fier de ses talents intergénération nels sur le terrain mais nous avions enfin eu des échos positifs et obtenu un créneau après tous ces efforts. Nous allions enfin pouvoir avoir accès à ce qui semblait être l’impossible, avec un entraîneur spécialement réquisitionné pour nous afin de nous préparer dans les meilleures conditions pour le Minicrit. Après de nombreux aléas et imprévus, qui ne l’étaient parfois pas vraiment, nous nous retrouvi ons dans une position difficile avec de nombreux absents avant cette compétition. Mais qu’à cela tienne ! Nous étions motivés, ragaillar dis, prêts à croiser le fer avec des Dijonnais inconnus, des Poitevins forts de leur préparation digne d’u ne équipe professionnelle avec de (très) nombreux matchs de prépa rations (en même temps, que peut-

on faire de mieux à Poitiers…) et des Havrais que nous étions prêts à rétamer, pour leur montrer que la mer Méditerranée sera toujours meilleure que la Manche. Face à toutes les difficultés que nous avions pu rencontrer cette année spéciale, nous avions toujours cette fougue au fond de nous, celle du feu sacré. Le désir d’aller contre tous les pronostics, de rendre fier tout un campus, de montrer que le cholismo n’est pas mort, en bref ; montrer aux yeux du monde (ou au moins quelques centaines de sciencepistes) que oui, Menton n’est pas mort, Menton ne baissera pas la tête, Menton va rivaliser et bien plus que cela, que nous n’avons jamais été aussi forts qu’a ujourd’hui, plus qu’hier et moins que demain.

Maxime Jbilou s’entraîne lors d’une des seules séances où l’équipe avait accès au terrain Photo courtesy of BDS

« Le sport va chercher la peur pour la dominer, la fatigue pour en triom pher, la difficulté pour la vaincre.

Pierre de Coubertin

Critique du film “Le Stade”

Article par Solenn Ravenel, chro niqueuse invitée

Mercredi 13 mars, j’ai eu la chance d’aller voir Le Stade au cinéma. Le film réalisé par Eric Hannezo et Matthieu Vollaire est une mag nifique plongée dans l’aventure d’une saison, au sein du vestiaire du Stade Toulou

sain. J’ai entendu parler de la sortie de ce film, une première dans le rugby français, depuis plu sieurs mois. Supporters toulou sains impatients, interviews des joueurs dans les médias, cela fait maintenant une semaine que ce film fait sortir le rugby du micro cosme du monde de l’ovalie. Bon spoiler, ce film ne révolution nera pas le milieu du cinéma, ni celui du sport. Mais pourquoi est-il néanmoins intéressant ?

lieu sacralisé, secret, normalement impénétrable pour les mortels que nous sommes. Il permet donc de briser ce qui pourrait être appelé le quatrième mur.

quelque soit votre niveau de connaissance du rugby, quelque soit votre club de cœur, le film Le Stade pourra vous séduire pour une seule raison : parce qu’il raconte, avec passion, une passion.

D’abord, le film semble passionner les supporters toulousains. Dans la salle de Cagnes sur mer ce mercre di, plusieurs spectateurs arboraient fierement leurs maillots rouge et noir. Cela n’est pas étonnant. Le Stade est peut être avant tout pour ses supporters, toujours présents. Malgré le covid, malgré les stades vides, ces derniers se sont massés au départ du bus pour encoura ger leur équipe. Des supporters toujours présents, même lorsque le silence des stades soulignait leur cruel manque. Des supporters qui ont poussé leur équipe à la victoire, ou plutôt aux victoires. Celles de la coupe d’Europe et du top 14, mais aussi celles qui écrivent l’histoi re, chaque week-end. Ce film est également une plongée dans le vestiaire de leurs joueurs préférés:

Le film peut aussi intéresser les fans de rugby, sans que ceux-ci supportent forcément le stade toulousain. Pour Ugo Mola, coach de l’équi pe: “Ceux qui nous aiment un peu vont nous aimer un peu plus et ceux qui nous détestent risquent nous détester un peu plus.” (RMC sport). Et malgré l’importance d’Ugo Mola dans ce film, permettez-moi d’être en désaccord avec cette affirma tion. Chaque supporter peut se retrouver dans ce que souligne ce film. Les discours d’Ugo Mola qui rythment le film sont autant de leitmotivs qui rappellent que le rugby est un sport de “valeurs”. Il est vrai que celles-ci souvent mises en avant peuvent paraître préten tieuses, soulignant une prétendue supériorité du rugby sur les autres sports. Il est bien sûr possible de le voir comme cela. Cependant, je vois dans ces valeurs : l’humilité, le sens de l’équipe, le travail, la ca maraderie, l’amitié, la famille, et le club, un socle commun qui permet à tous de se retrouver. Chaque supporter peut ainsi s’identifier, quelque soit le club qu’il aime, la famille ou les amis qui l’entourent. Le Stade, monté sans voix-off ni interview face cam, illustre ce que les supporters aiment le plus dans le rugby : les émotions.

Pourquoi ce film peut-il aussi intéresser les débutants en rugby?

Toi, qui n’as regardé qu’un match mais qui a zappé parce que tu n’as rien compris ! Ou encore toi, qui as seulement suivi la finale du grand chelem lors du tournoi des VI Nations ! Parce que ce film ne parle ni de jeu, ni de tactiques, pas besoin de comprendre le plan de jeu d’Ugo Mola : “bleu, bleu, munster” pour le comprendre. Avec Le Stade, vous découvrirez le rugby sous son angle le plus beau. Il peut être une belle porte d’entrée dans ce “sport d’initiés” (Ugo Mola). Peut être que vous serez parfois perdus pour comprendre l’organisation des compétitions, ou encore la place particulière du sta de toulousain dans le rugby fran çais et européen. Cependant, vous ne pourrez louper les larmes, les rires, les sourires. Vous ne pourrez louper ce pourquoi les supporters

revient sur les matchs de l’équipe de France. La première saison relate la tournée d’automne 2021 du XV de France, qui s’est achevée avec une victoire des Bleus face aux All Blacks.

La seconde saison, elle, illustre le magnifique Grand Chelem lors du tournoi des VI Nations en 2022.

La série est donc une magnifique image du XV de France d’a ujourd’hui, les images des victoires et les témoignages des acteurs sont magnifiques. La série souligne le travail du staff : kinés, coachs, analystes vidéos… mais également l’importance de l’extra sportif : soirées, chansons, jeux…

Pour aller encore plus loin, si vous souhaitez en apprendre plus sur le rugby international, découvrez

Pourquoi ce film peut-il aussi intéresser les débutants en rugby? Toi, qui n’as regardé qu’un match mais qui a zappé parce que tu n’as rien compris ! ... Avec Le Stade, vous découvrirez le rugby sous son angle le plus beau.

continuent semaine après semaine de se passionner pour ce sport si particulier. L’aventure humaine, racontée à travers une esthétique cinématographique : images, noir et blanc, musique… ne pourra que vous émouvoir. Et quelque soit votre histoire, vous pourrez vous identifier à ces moments de vie qui, malgré leur caractère sportif, sont souvent universels.

Si après avoir vu Le Stade, vous voulez continuer à regarder des films sur le rugby, n’hésitez pas à regarder les épisodes de la série Destins mêlés sur la chaîne YouTube de France Rugby, qui

Chasing the sun : le sacre des springboks sur Canal+. La série raconte le chemin de l’équipe sud-africaine vers la victoire de la coupe du monde en 2019. Plus sous forme de docu-série avec da vantage de moment d’interviews, la série est un vrai reportage en immersion dans la préparation et la compétition des Springboks.

Finalement, quelque soit votre niveau de connaissance du rugby, quelque soit votre club de cœur, le film Le Stade pourra vous séduire pour une seule raison : parce qu’il raconte, avec passion, une passion.

Mdou Moctar

continued from page 1

The genre bending noise that flooded Paris’ 18th Arrondisse ment this weekend was all thanks to Mdou Moctar – a four-piece Tu areg musical act that took the stage of “Le Hasard Ludique” by storm, clad in daraa and tagel musts, armed with electric guitars, and biting political lyrics all in Tamasheq. About twenty20 min utes into the concert, frontman Mahamadou Souleymane stopped the music. In solemn and simple words, he stated “Africa suffers. We are suffering.” He continued, demanding an explanation for the deployment of French and American troops in numerous African nations, stating “it is not the 15th century.”

Yet, colonial practices prevail. Souleymane described the extrac tion of resources from his home country of Niger at the hands of French mining com panies, underlining how his people had seen no prof it from their own nation’s riches. Leaving his words to settle in the humid air of the cramped concert hall, Souleymane stepped back, raised his guitar, and launched into a whining guitar lick. As the rest of the band joined, the song took the form of a typical Mdou Moctar bal lad – rife with rhythm and spirit, a soul-catching groove layered with melodic vocals and lively drums. This interlude was a stark remind er that what we, the crowd, had gathered to listen to was not sim ply music, but a political demon stration. Such has always been the case of desert blues – a genre born

in Libyan military training camps in the 1970s, an intricate fusion of rock, blues, and traditional Tuareg sounds.

The Tuareg, a historically nomadic sub-group of the Amazigh residing in the Sahara-Sahel region, have long -faced subjugation in the na tions across which their people reside. There is a strong sepaeratist movement within the Tuareg com munity, which has acted as a signif icant source of conflict since the Saharan-Sahel nations gained in dependence. In the 1980s, Gaddafi opened the Libyan borders to Tu areg refugees fleeing persecution and began recruiting them into his army. Libyan military camps flooded with young Tuareg men, fuelling a number of insurrections and rebellions across the Sahara in the 1990s. However, another un expected outcome emerged from

these training camps, a different manifestation of the Tuareg desire for emancipation and autonomy: Desert Blues.

It was a band by the name of Ti nariwen that pioneered this genre.

Front man Ibrahim Ag Alhabib met his band mates in a guerrilla training camp in Libya. The young men began to write songs about their struggles, the horrors that had forced them to flee their homes, and the subjugation of Tuareg peo ple. They formed a musical group, playing at weddings and parties, speaking to the longing and suf fering of their fellow Tuareg exiles. Soon they came to be known as “Kel Tinariwen,” which translates to “The Desert Boys” in Tamasheq. And so began Tinariwen, the first Desert Blues group, whichwho expertly combined traditional Tuareg sounds with bluesy gui

tar riffs and unfalteringly political lyrics. In 1985, Tinariwen set up a makeshift studio where they wrote and recorded songs. They offered these recordings for free to all who could provide a blank cassette tape. These tapes were exchanged and dispersed across the Sahara by rebel groups fighting for Tuareg inde pendence. Tinariwen were the first of many bands from the Saha ra-Sahel re gion to use music as a tool both in support of their own people’s spirit and to draw the eyes of the world to their suffer ing. Mdou Moctar in many ways is inspired by Tinariwen’s model. Especially with regards to his most recent album, “Afrique Victime,”, Mdou Moctar’s lyrics are harshly anti-imperialist. Although distinct ly Tuareg in musical style, “Afrique Victime” speaks for the continent of Africa as a whole, using music to condemn its exploitation and viola tion by Wwestern powers. During his speech regarding the modern colonial behaviour of France, Sou leymane pleaded with the audience to write to their politicians and to condemn the French government for acts often not properly docu mented by Wwestern media.

Mahamadou Souleymane is Tu areg, born in a small village in the

A Tuareg man rides a camel. Photo by Noureddine Belfethi, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0> via pexels.com

mid-80s in Niger. Due to resistance from his parents, Souleymane took up guitar, first by fashioning bike wires to a piece of wood and teach ing himself to play in secret on this makeshift instrument. Inspired by music emerging from the neighbouring coun try of Nigeria, Moctar fused traditional Tuareg sounds with drum ma chine tracks and auto tune. His creations be gan to circulate around the Sahara, and some how made their way to American music blog ger Chris Kirkley. Awe struck by the musical innovation Moctar was creating, Kirkley depart ed to Niger to attempt to find the mysterious musician behind these haunting tracks.

interview, stating “I am calling the whole world to stand up and revolt against the conditions we face. We don’t have the technology here in Niger to manufacture weapons, so how are they entering the country?

The music of Mdou Moctar is not only a stunning auditory experience, but also deeply powerful and moving. Such is the nature of political music, for it is from conflict and mar ginalization that the most compelling art arises... Mdou Moctar, in its embrace of this genre, has extended its polit ical demands to represent all those that suffer beneath the burden of imperialism.

Arab Netflix: To Stream or not to Stream?

Article by Lara Nour Walton, staff reporter

After successfully locating Souley mane, Kirkley’s label, Sahel sounds, helped to produce a number of Mdou Moctar albums which have garnered increasing international recognition. But music for Sou leymane is merely an accessory to his central mission of bettering the lives of those within his com munity. Each time Moctar releases an album, he builds a well, a vital resource in his community where access to water is a continual issue. Souleymane lives and works for the most part in Tahoua, he knows the community, plays at local wed dings, and rents out his car for a small fee – that is, when he’s not touring the world with his band. In recent years, the fame achieved by Mdou Moctar has provided Sou leymane with a platform to prop agate his message tofor Wwestern powers and audiences. In an inter view with Dazed magazine, Souley mane stated that French “[French] companies have extracted all the uranium and gold in Niger but help none of our problems. I’ve seen it since I was a small child. It’s mod ern slavery, racism, and colonialism combined.” He continueds in this

Why are other nations storing tools of war on our land? France, the US, NATO — they’re all complicit. Why are they here? Why?” Sou leymane offereds a damning final sentiment: “They’re playing with my people.”

Mdou Mmoctar utilizses itstheir music to dissolve the simplistic portrait of the marginalizsed as weak and miserable. ItThey draws attention to the evils of imperialism through a medium which showcas es the joy and beauty of Tuareg cul ture. Souleymane is shockingly tal ented, a compelling speaker, and an internationally recognized artist, all the while remaining an integral part of his community. He advocates for his people from within.

The music of Mdou Moctar is not only a stunning auditory experi ence, but also deeply emotion al. Such is the nature of political music, for it is from conflict and marginalizsation that the most compelling art arises. Desert blues have provided the Tuareg with a means to document itstheir strug gle, to draw the eyes of the world to itstheir needs. Mdou Moctar, in its embrace of this genre, hashave extended itstheir political demands to represent all those that suffer be neath the burden of imperialism.

My cousin Zeina delighted in the sprawling array of Egyptian films before her. In years past we had shared halwa over Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, camped out in front of Black Mirror for hours, and swooned over Baz Luhrmann’s expert castings of Dicaprio. She in troduced me to “Gone Girl,” “Eter nal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Inglorious Bastards.” Zeina has al ways loved her cinema, always rev eled in good television. But, I’d nev er known her to be a connoisseur of Arabic programs until I visited her over this past winter break.

She enthusiastically scrolled through Netflix’s seemingly nev er-ending queue of movies and shows from the Arab world, ex plaining the summary of each. I asked her why she’d never exposed me to this passion of hers, and she shrugged her shoulders: “I suppose I’ve never known how to show you.”

On December 9th, Netflix launched an Arab cinema catalog comprising 58 films by 47 different filmmakers. The American streaming service ti tled this release “Celebrating Arab Cinema” and aimed to “explore the breadth and beauty” of the region and culture with the collection. Now, a large variety of Arab mov ies are accessible to anyone with a Netflix subscription, permitting Zeina to finally show me her Arabic favorites.

While the “Celebrating Arab Cin ema” launch was largely welcomed by the South West Asian and North African (SWANA) and interna

tional community alike, Netflix’s other Arabic initiatives have expe rienced cooler receptions. On Jan uary 20, the release of the first Ar abic Netflix original, “Ashab Wala A’azz,” sparked mass controversy in the Arab world. A remake of the hit Italian box office hit “Perfect Strangers,” “Ashab Wala A’azz” im plicates SWANA audiences in dis cussions about queer identity, infi delity, and premarital sex. However, many Netflix users from the region worry that the movie’s themes do not mesh with Arab society, some asserting that Western films cannot be made into SWANA adaptations due to insurmountable cultural dif ferences. Lebanese English track

1A Angela Saab Saade repudiates this sentiment. “I don’t think it’s a matter of whether or not the Arab world is ready for this type of mov ie. I think it is imperative that we acknowledge that these things exist in Arab society. It is not a crime to address reality,” she said.

However, Saab Saade’s perspective is purely normative. Broaching contentious subject matter in the Middle East should not be a crime, but it is certainly still condemned. According to Lebanese journal ist Rabih Farran, “There’s nothing like the Arab world’s hatred of the truth.” This antipathy for candor, this cultural reluctance to recognize what happens behind closed doors, has been made all the more visible by the audience response to “Ashab Wala A’azz.” However, the public’s reaction raises questions that tran scend Netflix’s scope. It reveals the heated duel between social sensi tivities and artistic freedom in the Arab world — a battle that seems to have no end in sight.

La Chapelle Saint-Pierre: un chef d’oeuvre à Villefranchesur-Mer

“Car il ne s’agit plus de créer une belle oeuvre, mais de créer la plus belle des œvres et que sa puissance secrète rayonne avec une douceur pareille aux rages dévastatrices d’un explosif (...)

Toutes les courbes doivent être des arcs qui tirent directement leurs flèches dans le cœur.” Jean Cocteau

Article par Maria Azadian, chro niqueuse invitée

Tout a commencé quand une en seignante d’arts de mon école s’est débarrassée d’un vieux tas de cartes postales. Ayant commencé ma collection depuis quelques se maines seulement , cette pile de supposés détritus m’a attirée. J’en ai piqué deux ou trois, un peu au hasard. L’une des cartes postales représentait l’affiche du Testament d’Orphée: le dernier film du réali sateur Jean Cocteau.

Je l’admets, celle-ci est restée af fichée sur mon mur pendant quelques mois, sans que j’y pense réellement. Ceci, jusqu’à un fameux jour l’an dernier où j’ai pris la déci sion que ma quarantaine passée à visionner The Office pour la onz ième fois m’ennuyait un peu trop. J’ai jeté un autre coup d’œil à ma carte postale, et j’ai tapé les mots “Jean Cocteau Orphée” sur le cla vier de mon portable.

Depuis, comme j’ai eu la chance de m’installer sur la Côte d’Azur, je tiens à visiter ses traces dans la région où il a passé la dernière partie de sa vie. La visite de la Chapelle Saint-Pierre est une étape essentielle pour mener à bien cette mission.

Mais qui est Jean Cocteau?

Pour commencer, il faut dresser un portrait de Jean Cocteau. Un homme de haute moyenne classe qui a perdu son père par lesuicide, homosexuel dans une societé qui ne l’acceptait pas mais également apolitique pendant une periode où il ne fallait peut-être pas l’être: Coc teau est un personnage compliqué.

L’artiste publie son premier recueil de poèmes, La Lampe d’Aladdin, inspiré des Mille et Une Nuits, à l’âge de 20 ans. Au début de sa carrière, il se lie d’amitié et partic ipe à la création des Six, un groupe musical néoclassique d’avant-gar de. Cocteau et les six musiciens se font connaître pour passer de nombreuses soirées au cabaret-bar parisien Le Boeuf sur le Toit.

Cocteau devient un artiste extrême ment prolifique. Dans ses livres, films, et pièces de théâtre, son style néo-classique le démarque et le révèle comme anti-moderniste. Un thème récurrent dans ses œuvres reste l’intersection entre le désir et le pouvoir, surtout à travers ses représentations de l’homme “idéal”, “héroïque” – des représentations naïves – qui font écho à l’art grec classique antique.

Il passe également du temps au Moyen-Orient. Sa tournée de trois mois, de mars à mai 1949, pour la représentation de plusieurs de ses pièces l’amène, entre autres, à Bey routh et en Égypte. Il documente son voyage dans un journal, qu’il publie plus tard sous le titre de Maalesh.

Sa trilogie Orphique, composée de Le Sang d’un poète (1930), Or phée (1950) et Le Testament d’Or phée (1960), qui met en vedette Jean Marais, constitue une merveil le du cinéma avant-garde du ving tième siècle. Un mélange magistral du mythe et de la réalité au point que l’un ne se distingue pas de l’au tre, une étude de la logique du rêve, alliés à une esthétique irréproch able font de ceux-ci des classiques du film français.

Cocteau est décédé le 11 octobre 1963 dans son château à Milly-laForêt, quelques heures après avoir appris la mort de son amie proche, Édith Piaf. Il est enterré sous la

Chapelle Saint-Blaise dans cette même ville.

Jean Cocteau à Villefranche-sur-Mer

Cocteau a séjourné plusieurs fois à l’hôtel Welcome, à Villefranchesur-Mer. Son ami Albert Lorent, délégué au tourisme de la ville, l’in vite d’abord à exposer une œuvre à l’entrée de la chapelle. Pour ceci, Cocteau dessine un visage en face de la fameuse rue Obscure. Suite au grand succès de ce dessin, Lor ent lui offre la chance de décorer la Chapelle Saint-Pierre, qui devien dra par la suite l’une de ses œuvres les plus remarquables pendant sesannées sur la Côte d’Azur. Il repe int cette ancienne chapelle de pêcheurs datant de la fin du 16ème siècle en 1957, alors qu’elle était encore utilisée comme remise à filets. Aujourd’hui, à moins d’une dizaine de minutes de marche de la station de train de Villefranchesur-Mer, elle représente un des plus grands chefs-d’œuvre de la Côte

La Rue Obscure de Jean Cocteau qui se trouve a Villefranche-sur-Mer. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/4.0>

d’Azur.

Bien que l’entrée soit quelque peu coûteuse – trois euros pour une visite qui dure à peu près une ving taine de minutes – soyez rassuré ! Celle-ci en vaut réellement la peine. Malheureusement, vous ne serez pas autorisé à photographier l’intérieur de la chapelle. Par con tre, dès l’instant où vous poserez les pieds à l’intérieur, vous serez transporté dans une réalité autre et lointaine, séparé de la rue animée seulement par un mur d’une épais seur de quinze centimètres.

Les yeux dorés et présents à chaque côté de la porte sont répliqués sur deux chandeliers sur l’autel, se trouvant eux-mêmes à chaque côté d’une statuette d’un oiseau en en vol. Ils vous donnent l’impression d’être observé pendant que vous vous promenez dans la chapelle. Ils vous tiennent responsable des endroits où vous choisissez de vous arrêter, de ceux que vous choisissez d’examiner plus en détail comme ceux que vous manquez.

Les murs sont décorés de fresques représentant des scènes de la vie méditerranéenne et de l’apôtre Saint Pierre. Le plafond, quant à lui, est recouvert de représentations hypnotisantes d’anges. Les couleurs douces et les lignes peu définies des fresques sont intentionnelles, pour donner l’impression d’être dans un paradis nuageux, brumeux - comme dans un rêve.. Le style de Cocteau est simple, presque naïfreprésentatif de la mentalité de l’ar tiste. Cependant, il reste évocateur et puissant.

Jean Cocteau est inextricable de l’héritage artistique de la Côte d’Azur. Après un brunch dans un des petits restaurants sur le bord de mer, la chapelle Saint-Pierre est un incontournable de toute visite à Villefranche-sur-mer.

One step forward for South India

The success of Bridgerton

Article by Lenora D’souza, staff re porter

Radiant greenery, the abundant culture and bewitching landscapes that make up the basis of South India. Recent years have seen an in creased amount of South Asian rep resentation and characters of color in the limelight of Hollywood. However, nothing quite sparked conversation like the new season of Bridgerton, which saw two main South Indian female leads.

Bridgerton has surpassed Indian cinema — Bollywood — in all as pects of promoting women of color and shedding a different light on them than before. Bridgerton has placed them in a light of apprecia tion and beauty. After the release of this new Netflix series, we are see ing a widespread romanticization of South Indian women, and a new found admiration for their culture, charm and allure. Bollywood, on the other hand has had a history of downplaying and even denigrating South Indian women, favoring fair er skin as the status quo. The con stant advertising of ‘Fair & Lovely’ — a skin brightening cream — has made younger girls feel the need to lighten their skin tones in an un healthy manner.

Bridgerton, in that respect, broke past the long built up Indian ste reotype of darker skin tones being unwanted and undesired. Yet, the insufficient research and aware ness of Indian diversity in culture and time frame, takes away from what was achieved. The two leads Simone Ashley (Kate Sharma)

and Charithra Chandran (Edwina Sharma) come from South India, but the specific region or loca tion remains a mystery. The name ‘Sharma’ is typically a North In dian name that counterfeits their South Indian origins. The melange of languages used by the characters ranging from Hindi (‘didi,’ which means sister) to Tamil (‘appa,’ which means father) to Bengali (‘bon,’ which means sister) dis plays the lack of attention to detail from the playwrights. Additionally, the entrance line of ‘baap re’ (‘Oh Father’) by Kate Sharma is highly inaccurate for the regency era the series is set in. Such a phrase would not be used by a woman of high status. Whilst the distaste for Brit ish Tea was widely acclaimed, the ‘Masala Chai’ with its range of ar omatic spices was only introduced long after the Indian Regency era which ended in the 1820s.

Despite this lacking in detail and ac curacy, we can focus on what Brid gerton got right. The integration of Indian culture into multiple scenes of the show presents a massive win for many. The ‘Haldi’ ceremony

prior to the wedding, the jewel lery, the details and colors of their gowns, the hair oil massage, and the use of Kate’s full name at the end of the season. All these factors mark success and wins for South Indian women. Whilst Bridgerton may not have proved perfect, it achieved more than Bollywood has in its past few decades. We could focus on the imperfections, but then we would completely miss the main point of the show and all that it does for South Indians.

From a personal standpoint, Brid gerton’s second season made me feel proud. It didn’t really matter whether the show denoted Indian culture down to a T, what really mattered was this interpretation and viewpoint that South Indi an women are truly beautiful. It felt like magic to see women who shared similar if not the same skin color as me and I think that was the most powerful aspect of the show. Bridgerton renewed my apprecia tion for my culture and roots — a feat that not many shows have had the power to do.

Photo courtesy of netflix.com, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0> via Wikimedia Commons

L’expansion de l’art engagé en Algérie

Article par Raja Madani, chroniqu euse invitée

“C’est pourquoi il faut que les ar tistes, les écrivains et les savants, qui ont en dépôt certains des acquis les plus rares de l’histoire humaine, apprennent à se servir contre l’État de la liberté que leur assure l’État”Pierre Bourdieu

À l’occasion de la Semaine des Arts ayant récemment eue lieu à Sciences Po, cet article s’intéresse à l’utilisation de l’art comme moy en d’engagement politique, en prenant pour angle d’étude la place prépondérante occupée par l’art engagé en Algérie, dans la quête de liberté et dans la manifestation des espoirs.

Trois ans maintenant. En un ven dredi ensoleillé de la fin du mois de février 2019, la jeunesse algéri enne avait gagné les rues des villes principales du pays pour protest er contre l’éternelle reproduction d’un système politique qui l’étouffe. Ce moment de symbiose qui a progressivement réuni les multi ples spécificités de la population a donné lieu , par sa répétition chaque mardi et vendredi, à celle que l’on qualifie aujourd’hui de « révolution du sourire », ou autre ment dit: de Hirak. La population algérienne, encore très marquée par la violence extrême qui l’a touchée au plus près lors de l’épisode de la décennie noire des années 90, a dû s’armer d’outils lui permettant de faire circuler en puissance ses revendications, tout en plaçant la paix en véritable maître mot du mouvement. L’art est alors apparu comme le moyen de combiner ces objectifs.

Paroles extraites du chant de sup porters, devenu chant de manifes tants algériens, lui-même inspiré de la chanson de lutte des ouvrières des rizières de la Vallée du Pô Bella ciao :

« La Casa Del Mouradia », Ouled El Bahja.

ةيرشعلاب لاناهواشح ،تزاج اولوقن »

« Le premier {mandat}, on dira qu’il est passé.

Ils nous ont eu avec la décennie {noire}

تناب ةياكحلا ةيناثلاف

“La Casa Del Mouradia »

Au deuxième, l’histoire est devenue claire, La Casa d’El Mouradia {= commune à Alger}

ةيصخشلا حلاصملام تنايش دلابلا ةثلاثلاف

Au troisième, le pays s’est amaigri. À cause des intérêts personnels

« ةيضقلا تلازامو ،تتام ةيبوبلا ةعبارلاف

Au quatrième, la poupée est morte… Mais l’affaire suit son cours ».

Via le mouvement de protesta tion du Hirak sont nés au sein de la société algérienne des artistes qui ont su puiser dans leur inspi ration de quoi servir la cause de la dénonciation. Le mouvement s’est présenté pour chaque algérienne et chaque algérien comme une vérita

ble occasion de développer une fibre artistique jusque-là peu en couragée. C’est par exemple le cas de Liasmine Fodil, habitante de la ville de Tizi Ouzou, qui a vu dans le mouvement du Hirak l’occasion de se reconvertir en photographe, afin d’être d’une utilité à la commu nauté des insurgés. Elle expliquait il y a quelques mois son choix au média Web Arts Résistances par un devoir d’infor mation et de mémoire envers les futures généra tions : « Je sentais que c’était urgent de dire que ça se pas sait partout et pas seulement dans la capitale. {…} Dans quelques an nées nos photos seront des archives,

Aujourd’hui encore, l’art, parce qu’il est un instrument de contestation pacifique qui revêt une efficacité prouvée, est un objet soumis à une menace de musèlement que la population algérienne n’a de cesse de défier.

elles montreront comment des citoyens anonymes se sont mobi lisés ». Parmi les talents méconnus révélés par le Hirak, on retrouve également Mohamed Kechacha, chanteur de chaâbi: un genre mu sical algérois. Ce dernier s’est fait connaître par son vidéo-clip intit ulé 1000 milliards, en référence aux rentes pétrolières du pays. Enfin, et surtout, la foule en elle-même a constitué un corps d’ar tistes à l’unic ité foison nante. Par la création de chants et de slogans, de pancartes, de danses, ou encore de peintures : de semaine en semaine, l’expression artistique a su se dével opper au fur et à mesure que le mouvement évoluait.

L’art et la dénonciation, des éléments qui s’auto-génèrent

L’école Luce Benaben de la couture arabe. Photo courtesy of Library of Congress, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-sa/4.0>

En parallèle à ce foisonnement de nouvelles voix artistiques du Hirak, des artistes algériens affirmés de plus longue date ont su faire de leur art un instrument en faveur de la lutte pour la liberté et la démocratie en Algérie. C’est ainsi qu’en 2019, dans son célèbre titre intitulé « Liberté », le rappeur Soolking chantait le ras-le-bol des algériens envers le caractère sans issue de leur système politique. Il a fait de son morceau une véritable ode à la liberté, à laquelle il aspire pour l’Al gérie. Mais impossible d’évoquer la combinaison du mouvement de contestation du Hirak avec l’art sans avoir une pensée particulière pour les caricaturistes. Sous le ton de l’humour, ces derniers ne man quent jamais d’exposer leur point de vue et de partager avec les Al gériens des dessins de presse toujo urs plus engagés. De cette manière, des dessinateurs de presse comme Le Hic, Nime, Dilem ou encore Slim, en n’ayant de cesse de mêler art, humour, et conscience poli tique, se sont érigés en véritables symboles d’une autodérision voil ant à peine un sens profond.

Un phénomène en-raciné

Bien qu’il ait connu un essouffle ment particulièrement important avec l’épisode sanglant de la décen nie noire, il serait erroné de croire que l’art engagé était inexistant avant sa montée en puissance au moment du Hirak. On a en effet tendance à oublier que ce dernier a joué un rôle considérable dans la construction et la consolidation de l’identité nationale algérienne dans la période 1952-1970. Face à ce constat, l’historienne Anissa Bouayed, dans son ouvrage L’art et l’Algérie insurgée. Les traces de l’épreuve : 1954-1962, s’est donné pour mission de traiter la Guerre d’Algérie à partir des pro ductions artistiques de peintres internationaux et algériens. De Is siakhem, à Khadda tout en passant par Fares, l’autrice de ce livre d’art particulièrement novateur tend à expliquer que «l’’œuvre est sans doute au-delà de toute catégorie englobante. Elle rend compte dans un condensé fulgurant, des positions critiques majeures con

tre la guerre, et des aspirations à la liberté, à la fois en dénonçant la torture dans plusieurs tableaux et en représentant les manifestations algériennes ».

Une menace de censure qui demeure

Le 16 décembre 2019, l’artiste bédéiste Nime a été condamné à un an d’emprisonnement pour ses dessins politiques. Le 10 août 2020, c’est le journaliste et activ iste Khaled Drareni qui a été con damné à trois années de prison ferme pour des activités liées à son métier. Plus récem ment, le 4 janvier 2021, le jeune artiste Walid Kechida a été à son tour condamné à trois ans de prison ferme. Pas plus tard que dans son rap port annuel 2021-2022, l’organisation de défense des droits de l’Homme Amnesty International dénonçait l’arrestation et la détention de « cen taines de militants poli

tiques et de la société civile, ainsi que des journalistes, simplement parce qu’ils avaient exprimé leur opinion ou fait leur travail ». La lib erté d’expression se voit alors par ticulièrement menacée en Algérie ces dernières années et les artistes n’en sont pas moins épargnés. Au jourd’hui encore, l’art, parce qu’il est un instrument de contestation pacifique qui revêt une efficacité prouvée, est un objet soumis à une menace de musèlement que la pop ulation algérienne n’a de cesse de défier.

En parallèle à ce foisonne ment de nouvelles voix artis tiques du Hirak, des artistes algériens affirmés de plus longue date ont su faire de leur art un instrument en faveur de la lutte pour la liberté et la démocratie en Algérie. C’est ainsi qu’en 2019, dans son célèbre titre intitulé « Liberté », le rappeur Soolking chantait le ras-lebol des algériens envers le caractère sans issue de leur système politique.

Le Kasbah d’Algers Photo courtesy of Iñaki do Campo Gan, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>

La Semaine des Arts — Realizing Your Inner Artistic Potential

Article by Colin Lim, staff reporter

During the week of April 11-15, the Bureau des Arts (BDA) organized the Semaine des Arts to gather the Sciences Po Menton communi ty and highlight students’ artistic abilities in a supportive and welcoming environ ment.

The BDA hosted events throughout the week, collaborating with oth er student associations and inviting external guests. On campus, students could frequent the second-hand vintage clothing stand run by entrepreneur Giulia Cas tellucci, attend theater workshops led by comedian Lucas Gimello, participate in a dance workshop taught by Marie-Pierre Genovese, and learn dabke, a Levantine dance workshop guidedby 1A Riwa Has san in collaboration with Sciences Palestine. Other festivities includ ed a bake sale to raise funds for

the Minicrit in collaboration with the Bureau des Sports (BDS), and a chant-learning session at Sound proof.

The focal point of this week of cele bration was the live performance in

2A Eliana Seroussi, the BDA president, reflected on her relationship with the arts: “Honestly, the arts mean everything to me. I couldn’t imagine my life without at least a hint of creativity.

It just means being free, speaking with something oth er than words, and connect ing with people on a level you would have never expected.”

the grand amphitheater on Thurs day evening — the culmination of weeks and months of prepara tion by dozens of students who performed with their clubs, friend groups, and artistic workshops. The building’s main entrance show cased a student art gallery that fea tured numerous physical mediums

such as mosaics, ceramics, photo graphs, and Arabic calligraphy.

The show in the grand amphitheat er began with the music club’s en ergetic performance of “Runaway Baby” from Bruno Mars’ debut album, followed by “Redbone” by Childish Gambino. Vocalist and guitarist Sienna Bertamini (1A), bassist Saoirse Aherne (1A), and drummer Cameron Sterling (1A) faithfully captured the spirit of the original renditions of both songs while adding a unique flair in their interpretation. Shortly afterward, Raphaël Phanor (2A) captivat ed the audience with an eloquent French spoken ode to the memo ries he made and the people he met during his two years in Menton. He concluded his talk with a poignant reminder to the rising 2As that it will not be too long before they are in his position, reminiscing on the time they spent at Sciences Po. There were other musical perfor mances and short theatrical piec es, and an improvised percussive jazz and maqam-inspired piece by

the vocal music artistic workshop. The evening was rounded out by the oriental dance and polyphonic singing artistic workshops and a lively routine by the cheerleading team.

The show was an opportunity for students to celebrate one another and discover the latent talent with in their classmates. The entire week would not have been possible with out the time and effort of the BDA.

2A Eliana Seroussi, the BDA pres ident, reflected on her relationship with the arts: “Honestly, the arts mean everything to me. I couldn’t imagine my life without at least a hint of creativity. It just means be ing free, speaking with something other than words, and connecting with people on a level you would have never expected.” She contin ued, “Of course, organi(zing the events) is tiring and takes up your energy and commitment, but in the end it’s all worth it, as long as it gets one person to smile and escape for a bit. That’s the beauty of art.”

Arabic calligraphy lines the walls of Sciences Po campus of Menton.

Photo by Hugo Lagergren

Photographs from students are exhibited at the entrance of the campus. Photo by Hugo Lagergren