Econ_May_05

The Economist

May 5th 2018

Europe 51

OTHIS day, Romanians remain baffled

by what actually happened during the

violent spasmwhich rid the country of its

communist dictator in December 1989.

Seeking to give them a definitive answer,

on April 17th prosecutors indicted Ion Ili-

escu, the first post-communist president of

the country, for crimes against humanity

allegedly committed during the revolution

hewas instrumental in leading.

If the trial of the 88-year-old two-time

president succeeds in settling the record

that would be a fine thing. It probably will

not happen, though. In the rest of eastern

Europe, the end of communism was a

mostly peaceful affair, but in Romania

things were different. The revolution start-

ed in the western city of Timisoara, where

dozens were shot. Nicolae Ceausescu, the

communist dictator, then called a rally in

Bucharest. But when, on television, people

could be heard shouting, “Down with the

dictator,” the game was up. He fled in a he-

licopter but was arrested, and executed

alongside hiswife on Christmas Day.

The drama of those days was, literally,

indescribable. No one appeared to know

what was happening. A few Ceausescu

loyalists held out, and arms were distri-

buted to civilians to resist mysterious “ter-

rorists” who turned out not to exist. Much

ofthe shootingwas done byunits ofthe se-

curity forces andmilitaryfiring at each oth-

er. Mr Iliescu, who has been indicted along

with three others, has always maintained

that there was no secret plan. He and oth-

ers simply stepped in to fill the power vac-

uum, he says. The indictment, however, ac-

cuses themof creating “diversions”: that is,

giving contradictory orders to different un-

its which inevitably led to people being

killed.

Mr Iliescu is a divisive figure. Detractors

despise him for his communist past and

for, as they believe, hijacking the revolu-

tion. Former communists did prosper after

the revolution; but that was true from

Prague to Vladivostok. The former presi-

dent is already on trial for his alleged role

in orchestrating violence committed by

miners he called to come and crush anti-

government protests in Bucharest in June

1990, a far lessmurky case.

Since the indictmentMr Iliescuhas said

nothing. But on April 13th he wrote on his

blog that hewas proud ofwhat he did, that

it was ridiculous to pretend that democra-

cy and its institutions should have been es-

tablished the second the Ceausescus fled,

and that he is being made a scapegoat.

Many victims’ families will be relieved

when he goes on trial, as they have never

had clear answers as to why their loved

ones died. Valentina Radu, aged 85, a re-

tired teacher, said: “He may not go to jail,

but history has to know the truth about Ili-

escu and the revolution.” After so many

years, however, it probably won’t be the

whole truth, or evenwholly true.

Romania

Trying the

president

Romanians hope to learnwhat

happened during the revolution

Untold stories

GIANT banner at the entrance to the

University of Nanterre advertises offi-

cial events to commemorate the May ’68

student uprising. There are seminars on

“counterculture” and “revolutions”, and a

conference on the intersectionbetween art

and politics. Around the corner, past par-

tially obscured graffiti reading “Macron

we’re going to hang you”, today’s genera-

tion is staging its own historical tribute to

the

soixante-huitards

. Inside an amphi-

theatre blockaded by a pile of chairs and

upturned tables, over a thousand students

are voting to continue a sit-in. Fifty years

on, as the country looks back at one of its

most iconic post-war moments, the lines

between history, drama, politics and art

feel strangely blurred.

The 1968 events first broke out on the

Nanterre campus, in an unfashionable

suburb west of Paris, before spreading to

the Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter. Daniel

Cohn-Bendit, or Dany the Red, led a stu-

dent occupation, partly in protest at dormi-

tory rules outlawing male visitors to fe-

male dormitories. But it was the prospect

of selection at entry for undergraduates

that set offthewider rebellion. This reform

never took place. Half a century on, stu-

dents are resisting a new challenge to their

right to sign up for any degree they like.

“Equality of access to university is a

right,” declares a student at Nanterre, on

her way to the amphitheatre to vote. Ever

since Napoleon devised the school-leav-

ing

baccalauréat

as an entrance ticket to

university, all those who pass it can apply

for any undergraduate course, regardless

of their suitability. So a student who has

not studied the maths-heavy

bac

‘

’ (for

“scientific”) can nonetheless enroll for a

maths degree. The result is overcrowded

amphitheatres, and a high drop-out rate.

Jean-Michel Blanquer, the education min-

ister, points out that a staggering 70%ofun-

dergraduates fail to complete their degree

within three years.

A new application process, put in place

this year under President Emmanuel Mac-

ron, makes a small but important change.

For the first time, universities have access

to a pupil’s school reference, and will be

able both to assess their suitability and

make offers conditional on ill-prepared ap-

plicants’ agreeing to take catch-up courses.

As far as selection goes, it is minimal. But

many students suspect it is the start of an

insidious slide towards Anglo-American-

style selection. “The government refuses to

use the word selection because it knows

it’s illegal,” claims one at Nanterre.

Similar sit-ins have taken place at over a

dozen campuses. Riot police have been

sent in to evacuate some. Resistance has

spread to unlikely corners. Students at Sci-

ences Po last month staged a sit-in against

selection out of “solidarity”. Sciences Po is

a highly selective

grande école

—a universi-

ty for the elite, to which the rules for the

masses do not apply. “Here are trained

thosewho select” read a banner. Some crit-

ics of the new procedure point less to the

principle than to the stealth. Mr Macron is

usually upfront about his reforms. Yet the

government has not explicitly used the in-

cendiary word “selection”. “The process

will de facto involve selection,” argues

Marc Ivaldi of the Toulouse School of Eco-

nomics, but “it is hidden selection, and this

iswhy it’s a bad law.”

Back at Nanterre, surrounded by so

many historical echoes of 1968, the talk is

all about continuing the struggle. Mr Mac-

ron, who himself studied philosophy at

Nanterre, is not popular here, at least

among those protesting. But he does not

look ready to cede ground. And it will not

have passed students by that one of those

who backed him for president last year

was none other than a fellow Nanterre

alumnus, Mr Cohn-Bendit.

France’s students

The shadowof ’68

NANTERRE

A (less violent) protest against selection

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