What is the story behind the growing network of French far right-funded schools and universities?

"How Does Transgender Ideology Destroy Lives?" read the title of the latest conference held at the Institute for Social, Economic and Political Sciences, ISSEP.

The school, located in the French city of Lyon, was founded by French far-right MEP Marion Maréchal Le Pen in 2018.

Maréchal Le Pen is a former National Rally deputy and ex-spokesperson for the far-right politician Éric Zemmour, leader of the Reconquête party.

In response to this conference — which LGBTQ+ activists say was a virulent attack on their community — some 300 demonstrators gathered in protest near the school.

Located in a former industrial area of France's third-largest city, the schools’ buildings were also graffitied with slogans reading "not an area for fascists" and "transphobes out of our lives".

Although the facades of the establishment may have since been scrubbed clean, the ideology remains. In fact, it proudly flaunts its "anti-woke" teachings.

The ISSEP offers degrees in political science and modules in political campaigning. However, the French state does not recognise these qualifications, so the school receives no public funding.

'Woke imports' vs 'metapolitical approach'

Marion Maréchal Le Pen — Marine Le Pen's niece and Jean-Marie Le Pen's granddaughter — served as the school’s director until 2022. Then, she gave up her position, citing her formal political engagements in Eric Zemmour's Reconquête party as clashing with her desire "to preserve" the school's "independence."

The school's co-founder, Thibaut Monnier, is a serving MP for the National Rally party and former Reconquête member.

"None of the school's leaders have a political mandate," Victoria Pourchet, head of the school's programmes, told Euronews.

Despite this, Monnier's LinkedIn profile still shows him as the school's director, while his profile on the French National Assembly website lists a current ISSEP student working for him as a parliamentary assistant.

Pourchet claims France's higher education system "no longer inspires a vocation for leadership, for taking responsibility, for risk-taking and commitment." She blames this on "woke ideologies imported from across the Atlantic".

"(Today's) teaching is essentially based on a desire to deconstruct the methods, models and traditions that have been the strength and success of European civilisation for over 2,000 years," she explained.

In turn, ISSEP is "nonpartisan" and does not promote "a specific party, group or movement," Pourchet said.

Yet, "today's political struggle clearly cannot be confined to mere electoral contests or televised jousts. That's why ISSEP has adopted a metapolitical approach," she added.

'An anti- Sciences Po'

For experts, this rhetoric is undoubtedly partisan. "The ISSEP is probably the most nakedly ideological university that leans heavily into the idea of being an 'anti-Sciences Po,'" Wendy Via, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told Euronews.

"It has reportedly been successful in attracting students who are members of far-right groups in France, such as the National Rally or the extreme activist group Génération Identitaire. In Spain, those with nostalgia for the (fascist dictator Francisco) Franco's regime have found a home in their Madrid branch," added Via.

The institution’s goal may be to shape the next generation of political leaders, but building a lasting network is also key. Earlier this year, social media posts showed the school organised an alumni sailing expedition.

What could seem like an ordinary summer activity was, in fact, a 300-kilometre kayak journey retracing the steps of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

The school has politicians as figureheads and a range of speakers tied to the right and far right.

"By inviting suit-and-tie-wearing members of the far right to teach or speak at their events or participate in large conferences abroad, this veil of intellectualism helps them be perceived as legitimate actors", said Via.

Among the listed professors, many hold teaching degrees recognised by the French state. However, others have been mired in past controversies.

One professor faced a four-year ban from teaching for his involvement in the violent removal of students protesting in an amphitheatre in 2018. Another one had his columns featured in the newspaper of the far-right nationalist pro-monarchy group Action Française.

Madrid campus and US connections

Establishments that hold conservative — or ultra-conservative — teaching philosophies exist across Europe. In 2020, Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán injected more than €1.5 billion into his Mathias Corvinus Collegium, opening campuses in several European capitals, including Brussels and Vienna.

"There are also connections abroad. The Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) is an official partner of the ISSEP, which is deeply ingrained in the Orbánist propaganda network," said Gales.

The ISSEP also opened a campus in Madrid, where several teaching staff belong to the far-right Vox party. With ties across Europe, these institutions have also been courting US support.

"These French networks have both direct and indirect ties to the American far-right, primarily through Marion Maréchal-Le Pen herself. She is no stranger to American events such as the CPAC, where she was a speaker in 2018 and touted her ISSEP as a future model for higher education", Via explained.

Alternative right-wing weekend classes

In 2004, after spending time in the US, conservative former journalist Alexandre Pesey founded the Institute of Political Training (Institut de Formation Politique).

"Marion Maréchal Le Pen has said that the IFP inspired her to create the ISSEP", Pesey told Euronews.

This is not a full-time university but an establishment that organises seminars and weekend classes for students. To be admitted, attendees must be under 30 and share the school’s values.

"They're all people with a thirst for meaning, who want to serve their convictions, serve their country. Some get involved in politics, others in associations, others in the media," said Pesey.

"This can be through having a political Instagram account, going to campaign for a political party, while some of our other students even stand in elections", he adds.

In 2018, Pesey also launched the Institute of Free Journalism (Institut Libre Du Journalisme). To date, 200 students have taken part in journalism courses.

The list of speakers invited to speak includes Zemmour, who anti-racism and civil rights NGOs have repeatedly flagged up for hateful speech.

Despite the repeated fines the French justice system has issued against the politician for hateful speech, Pesey explained that "if they have made remarks which are problematic, it is for the courtroom to decide, not us."

"We are not here to censor, and we certainly aren’t judges."