Focus on a Campus: Le Havre Hosts an Eloquence Contest

Sciences Polémiques (Sciences Po's student organisation for eloquent orators) settled in Le Havre in 2022-23, with the aim to become an integral part of campus and city life.

Eloquence is to Sciences Po what wind is to Le Havre.

Michaël Hauchecorne, Le Havre campus director

The Prix Richard Descoings (an intercampus eloquence contest) hence welcomed, on 4 February, 2023, sixteen competitors from Sciences Po’s eight bachelor programmes, across its seven campuses. Le Havre students are unanimous: they want the contest to deal with travels, be they spiritual or itinerant, with each and everyone’s journeys and pathways, under one theme reminding Le Havre’s history and symbolism: the “Odyssey”.

Prix Richard Descoings: and the winners are…

After tough selection rounds on each campus, candidates were all invited to Le Havre, for the competition’s final round. Engaged pleas for some, Sciences Polémiques-like stageplay for others, the mood was set, sometimes praising, often satirical. 

First anglophone position went to Nina Bert, from Dijon, whom, dealing with Arthur C. Clarke’s teachings in A Time Odyssey, pictures the worst for any explorer: commonplace. Zaheer Abbas, Le Havre’s candidate, was right on her heels, speaking of “hot sand” and romances which can arise whilst spending a night in Paris. Charles Mateos Y Lago, for Paris, staged doubt as a philosophy, rejecting Kant and Descartes’ teachings to devote himself to Freud’s id.

First francophone position went to Maxence Humbert, whose voice, sympathizing with Sicilian romances, got inspiration from one of Ann Radcliffe’s elders: Shakespeare, whom, in Macbeth, reminds how weak a human life is facing hours and days’ endless flow. Aurèle Delahaye, from Reims, went next, dealing with “comfortable situations” some can get into with a stable job and life, but which might as well turn into deadly boredom. The local candidate, Léonard Im Bora, went third, and was admired for the scope of his language register.

High-end jury and partners

Edition 2023 of Sciences Po’s eloquence contest was once more marked by daring interactions between candidates and jury. Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, deputy minister to the minister for health and prevention, in charge of territorial organisation and health professions, Stéphanie Balme, dean of Sciences Po’s College, director of research at CERI and professor at PSIA, Stéphanie Rismont, director for Communications and Brand of SNCF, Caroline Leclercq, Le Havre Deputy Mayor in charge of international relations, Dominique Youb, president of LICRA’s, Le Havre’s branch, and Thibaut Chaix, municipal councillor in Le Havre, honored Sciences Polémiques by their presence.

The SNCF group, LICRA, L’Oréal Group and CROUS Normandie brought Sciences Polémiques’ Le Havre branch a huge support in the organisation of the Prix Richard Descoings, 2023 edition. SNCF financed participants’ trips, LICRA subsidised venues, L’Oréal group contributed to the branch’s general activities and the CROUS helped welcome the participants, alongside Sciences Po. Cate Barton and Toàn Oswald, presiding over Sciences Polémiques in Le Havre, wish to thank them warmly.

Student artistic clubs under the spotlight

At the end of the competition, participants were invited to “Magic Mirrors”, an emblematic venue for shows in Le Havre, for a large artistic show with many art clubs from campus performing with the help of the Bureau des Arts (BDA), including “LH Sessions”, the campus musical ensemble or the campus Bollywood dance group.

Regulars of Sciences Polémiques' weekly training sessions were able to mock, praise, retell and express themselves in front of their counterparts coming from the six other Sciences Po campuses. Romain Yborra and Zachary Pennès opened with a stand-up, followed by Philip Tham and Juanita Santofimio, English-speaking students from Singapore and Colombia respectively, who interpreted a speech in French, setting the crowd to high spirits. Ariel Corcos, Chan-lekha Klinchuen and Lancelot Giraud satirised the members of the association with a touch of self-mockery.

Students are proud of their campus culture

The Prix Richard Descoings, as one of many events organised between Sciences Po’s campuses, allows all students to meet each other and foster institutional belonging.

Prix Richard Descoings’ organisation by Sciences Polémiques in Le Havre is right in the line of many events that were held this year by the association board to properly settle, including an introduction session in the Oscar Niemeyer Library, where students displayed their relation to the city to newcomers.

Other events marked the 2022-23 year with eloquence and public speaking, including the “Paul et Mike show”, a bilateral competition with the Reims campus, or a day spent in Rouen by Sciences Polémiques Le Havre members with representatives of L’Oréal group and Direction Recrutement France to train students from high schools linked to Sciences Po with CEP in Rouen’s area.

To end the first board’s mandate, Sciences Polémiques will soon hold a bilateral public speaking competition with EM Normandie business school and the “Goodbye night” in Pasino, Le Havre, thanks to the support of Partouche group and LICRA. Second year students will then speak their very last reverence to the place they love most before leaving for new academic adventures.

Thank you to Toàn Oswald for writing and sharing this article.

MORE INFORMATION:

• Sciences Polémiques Le Havre Instagram account: @sciencespolemiques.lehavre
• The full replay of the event on Youtube
• The article on the Prix Richard Descoings written by Maud Niemi for « le Dragon Déchaîné », the campus newspaper
• Le Havre campus and its Asia-Pacific minor