Unions call out government ‘attack’ on academic freedom

The 12 unions who sit on the CNESER, France’s national council for higher education and research, have called on the government to withdraw plans to make the head of CNESER’s disciplinary committee a senior civil servant.

In a statement published on 25 June, the 12 unions and the campaign group Qualité de la Science Française said that an amendment to the government’s bill reforming the public service would “go against the constitutional principle of academic independence”.

At present the CNESER’s disciplinary committee, which hears cases of alleged misconduct, is headed by a senior academic elected by other CNESER members. The government’s amendment to the bill, which was made on 18 June and approved by the Senate on 20 June, would replace this senior academic with a member of the Council of State, which provides legal advice to the government and acts as the supreme court for administrative justice. The head would be chosen by the Council of State’s vice-president.