Blockage of the Sorbonne: do the police have the right to intervene in a university?

In the event of a blockade of a university, the police can only evacuate the occupants within a specific framework.

Tuesday April 30 in Paris, the police intervened to evacuate the Tolbiac site of the University of Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne, occupied by certain pro-Palestinian students. An intervention denounced by higher education unions and the Human Rights League who warn of the restriction of freedom of expression in French universities. What the law says ?

Only the president of the university can request intervention from law enforcement.

Universities benefit from a special regime called by lawyers “university franchise”. Although they are public establishments, their management is not in the public domain. This implies that the police can only intervene if the request comes from within: in other words, upon request or authorization from the president of the university himself. This special status guarantees freedom of opinion and the independence of faculties, and dates back to the Middle Ages.

In 1229, the first student revolt was organized in Paris, the demonstrators were subject to particularly violent repression. Some are killed by city guards. As a sign of support, university professors went on strike and obtained from Pope Gregory IX a legal text guaranteeing the autonomy of university management. This guarantee of independence has continued since then, throughout the texts which govern higher education. The latest law is that of July 22, 2013.

The president of the university then does not need to justify or motivate his request for intervention by the police. It is article L 712-2 of the education code which gives it this power. The text specifies that the president is responsible for maintaining order within the confines of his establishment and that he “may call upon the public force under conditions set by decree of the Council of State.” Furthermore, the legal guide of the Conference of University Presidents emphasizes that the university president can be “held under an obligation to intervene to guarantee public order” within the establishment.

It is by virtue of this legal framework that the president of La Sorbonne was able, on Tuesday April 30, to request the intervention of the police to unblock the Tolbiac campus. Likewise, in recent years, on the sidelines of student protest movements, several universities have been evacuated.

Exceptions to the principle of non-intervention

There are, however, exceptions to the principle of non-intervention by law enforcement. The police can then enter a faculty without the president of the site initiating the intervention. These are cases of flagrante delicto, disasters – such as a fire – or when the request for intervention comes from the public prosecutor.

Note that to guarantee public order within his university, the president can also take other measures. He has the power to suspend classes or prohibit access to certain premises for a period not exceeding thirty days. He may also call on private security services.