A message from Frédéric Mion

09/02/2021 - Read the message sent by Frédéric Mion, president of Sciences Po, to Sciences Po students, professors and employees.

"Dear colleagues,
Dear professors,
Dear students,

For nearly eight years that I have been entrusted with the responsibility of directing Sciences Po, I have put all my heart and energy into working on the development and outreach of this beloved institution, serving a community of students, employees, researchers, teachers and alumni whom I deeply admire. I have always strived to carry out my mandate with the highest standards. It is an immense responsibility, a great honour and a great pride.

Our university has been going through a very painful time since the revelation of criminal acts allegedly committed by Olivier Duhamel. Since that day, all my decisions have been guided by the desire to protect our university, its employees, professors, researchers and student community from these events in which they had no part.

I considered that it was my duty not to leave my position before the conclusions of the investigation carried out at the request of the Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, by the General Inspection of Education, Sports and Research.

The provisional conclusions of this inspection, which were sent to me today, confirm that no system of organized silence or complacency existed within our establishment. It identifies no negligence in the way our institution handled this matter and no failure in our governance. It underlines the irreproachable behaviour of the management team around me. It also confirms that Sciences Po, under my responsibility, has committed firmly to the fight against all forms of gender-based or sexual violence, with pioneering initiatives which need to be made more widely known to our community.

This is by far the most important.

The report, however, points to errors in judgment in my handling of the allegations which were communicated to me in 2018 and inconsistencies in the way I communicated about this case after it arose. I understand the resulting turmoil and take full responsibility for it.

I have too much esteem for the men and women who serve our school with talent and passion to accept that their work may be impacted by my decisions. This is why I have decided to present my resignation to the members of our Councils and to the Minister of Higher Education. I hope it will allow a return to the peace so essential to everyone’s work.

I want to express here to each and everyone my immense gratitude for the work accomplished during these years, and my best wishes for their success and that of Sciences Po.

Best regards, "
Frédéric Mion"