Under the astonished eyes of passers-by, a woman, dressed in a pale pink top, is escorted by dozens of Sciences Po Paris students on Boulevard Saint-Germain this Tuesday evening. On the way between rue Saint-Guillaume, historic address of the Institute of Political Studies, and the campus of Place Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin, Angela Merkel strolls and accepts several selfies in the heart of Saint-Germain- des-Pres. A few minutes earlier, the former German chancellor was awarded the honorary title of doctor honoris causa by Mathias Vicherat, director of Sciences Po, during a ceremony in the Émile-Boutmy amphitheater.
Sciences Po wanted to “salute the completely exceptional political and historical work” of Angela Merkel, said Mathias Vicherat in the introduction. The director of the IEP of Paris first honored the former chancellor as a scientist, born of a “theologian father” and a mother “teacher in Latin and English”, and herself “titular of a thesis in quantum chemistry”. Mathias Vicherat, who says he wants to make Sciences Po “the world reference university in terms of combining fundamental interdisciplinary knowledge and professional expertise”, then underlined the “unbreakable links that have been forged between Sciences Po and Germany since decades” and hailed “a very, very great European”.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, a shadow has however come to tarnish the results of the sixteen years in power of the one who has long enjoyed an unequaled popularity rating in her country and abroad. The centre-right former head of government has been accused of increasing Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, including by promoting the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline despite the reservations of its partners Europeans and Americans. At the time of awarding this title, the management of Sciences Po was not unaware of these criticisms of Angela Merkel’s energy policy.
On the benches of the amphitheater, Giacomo, 21, judges “very difficult to criticize the choice of Angela Merkel”. “Before the war in Ukraine, Russia was still a reliable partner”, considers this student on the Franco-German campus of Sciences Po in Nancy. For Anoa, 19, also a student at Sciences Po, “Angela Merkel remains a woman who did great things, for example during the migrant crisis in 2015”. Her position vis-à-vis Russia has “damaged her image in part, but I don’t think that should tarnish all of her work,” she said. “Of course we can criticize her, but perhaps this was not the event for that,” summarizes Mira, a German student at Sciences Po.
Angela Merkel also highlighted “the cohesion of the European Union” and the “diversity of Europe”. She listed “three essential aspects for Franco-German friendship and European unity to endure”. “Combating intolerance”, first. “There can’t be an ounce of understanding for the far left and the far right or violence in the name of religion,” she said. “Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil. Stand firm against all the beginnings of intolerance,” she added. Second, Angela Merkel called for “seeing with the eyes and putting yourself in the shoes of the other”, which “requires knowledge of our history and our different languages”.
