Flags drooping on the left bank
IT IS rare for a tale of academic mismanagement in a small institution to grab national attention. But Sciences-Po is no ordinary university. The four most recent French presidents, including François Hollande, studied there. In the heart of the Parisian left bank, it attracts top-rated students and staff. And it has been without a head since its former director, Richard Descoings, died suddenly in April in a New York hotel room.Now a report on Sciences-Po by the national auditor that talks of “management failure” and “numerous irregularities” has sparked furious debate. Critics have seized on managerial extravagance. Aggrieved students, whose tuition fees have risen sharply, have denounced excessive pay. Others have called for board resignations. And the higher-education minister, Geneviève Fioraso, has overruled Sciences-Po’s choice of successor—Hervé Crès, its deputy director—and imposed a caretaker.Sciences-Po is an odd creature. The state finances half its budget, but the school is run by a private foundation and is thus unconstrained by rules about…
