Sorbonne lecture hijacked by Nazi apologia in latest campus hate incident University calls in prosecutors

Sorbonne University in Paris has referred a case to prosecutors after antisemitic, racist, and other hateful messages appeared on screen during a health faculty lecture last week.

The incident occurred during an interactive session in the specialist general medicine program, when students used the Wooclap digital teaching platform to project hate-filled messages — including the words “Hitler,” “Jews,” and a Nazi swastika — onto the lecture hall screen, as per Euronews.

Trade union activist Manès Nadel commented on the episode on X, noting that alongside “apologia for Nazism, which they will claim is humour,” the messages targeted “Jews, Blacks, Muslims, Kurds, women.”

According to the university, roughly 100 students and six instructors were exposed to “explicitly racist remarks and Nazi apologia.” The lecture was immediately halted, and the auditorium was evacuated. The university provided support for affected staff, while the general medicine department set up a psychological assistance unit for students. The institution’s officer responsible for secularism, anti-racism, and combating antisemitism was also notified.

“The school reiterates its unwavering commitment to the fight against antisemitism, racism, and all forms of discrimination,” the university said in a statement.

The episode is the latest in a series of troubling incidents on French campuses this autumn.

In early October, the Sorbonne also referred another case to prosecutors after the Comité Action Paris 3 posted on X calling October 7 — the day Hamas attacked Israeli communities and a music festival — a “glorious day.”

On October 15 at the University of Paris VIII, nearly 200 students reportedly took part in an event where speakers openly praised terrorism and glorified the October 7 attacks, according to Senator Pierre-Antoine Levi. When participants were asked whether they condemned the events of 7 October, the collective response was “no.”

In September, university rectors and presidents were summoned by then–higher education minister Philippe Baptiste following “very serious, insulting and antisemitic comments” circulating in student WhatsApp and Instagram groups. At Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Jewish students were expelled from an Instagram group by another student “because of their alleged Zionism” or presumed religious identity, inferred solely from their names.

The Sorbonne acknowledged in September that these incidents reflect a broader “context in which antisemitic acts are on the increase in academic circles.”

In July, France adopted a new law targeting antisemitism in higher education, which mandates awareness campaigns, disciplinary measures, and the appointment of dedicated antisemitism officers in all universities.

However, a national survey on antisemitism in universities commissioned by the Ministry of Higher Education from polling firm IFOP has sparked controversy. Critics accuse it of resembling a political “census.”

France Universités, the association representing university leaders, said the IFOP questionnaire suffers from “significant issues” in its design and content. In a letter sent November 24, the association informed the ministry it would not endorse the survey. It also warned that certain questions raise concerns, “including among administrative and legal managers of institutions about GDPR compliance and state neutrality.”

The Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (Human Rights League) urged unions to reject the survey initiative entirely, arguing that both the methodology and the planned questionnaire “appear to entail serious risks.”

France hosts Western Europe’s largest Jewish population — about 500,000 people, roughly 1% of its population. Antisemitic incidents have risen sharply in recent years, with a significant spike in 2023 following the October 7 Hamas-led attacks and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Reported cases include physical assaults, threats, vandalism, and harassment, prompting growing alarm among Jewish communities and leaders.

By Tamilla Hasanova