French students announce legal action over universities’ ties with Israel

Several organizations, including Student Solidarity and the French Jewish Union for Peace, have filed a complaint with a French administrative court challenging ties between French universities, two ministries and Israeli academic institutions.

In a statement published Wednesday, the groups said they are seeking "the disclosure, reassessment and termination of links between French and Israeli universities, due to the active participation of the latter in repeated and blatant violations of international law by the Israeli state."

The French universities cited include Sciences Po Paris, Sorbonne University, Aix-Marseille University, the University of Strasbourg, Grenoble University and others.

France's Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs are also named in the complaint.

"Amid escalating violence worldwide, universities have an ethical duty to set an example and uphold strict respect for international law," the statement said.

In 2025, the University of Lausanne and the University of Geneva ended their partnerships with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The International Criminal Court has also issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza war.