France: Education and research stakeholders standing against far-right amid parliamentary elections

French HEI conferences and academics are standing against the far right after the first round of legislative elections, in which the far-right party Rassemblement National and its allies obtained 33.15% of the votes cast on 30/06/2024.

The French Rectors' Conference (France Universités), the Conference of Directors of French Management Schools (CDEFM), the Conference of Deans of French Engineering Schools (Cdefi) and the Conference of Grandes Écoles (CGE), "say no to the Rassemblement National for schools and universities", in a joint press release published on 01/07/2024.

French President Emmanuel Macron had triggered a snap election after dissolving the National Assembly on 09/06/2024, after the European elections saw the Rassemblement National, led by Marine Le Pen, gather 31.37% of the votes, in front of Macron's party, second with 14.6%.

The conferences are reacting after the first round of the elections, but several unions and professional organisations had called on people to vote against the far right beforehand.

The Conseil Scientifique de l'Education Nationale (CSEN), an…