The University of Lyon-2 is currently the subject of heated debate. Willy Beauvallet-Haddad announced on Monday May 5 that he would be stepping down from his executive positions at the university, i.e. from his posts as Vice-President for Human Resources since 2018, for Finance since 2021 and as Vice-President of the Board of Directors, which he has held since February 2025. However, he will remain a lecturer in political science, as Le Point reports.
With his resignation, Willy Beauvallet-Haddad hopes to ‘reduce the pressure on the institution and protect the interests of the institution in a particularly problematic context that it is undergoing’, he wrote in a message to his colleagues. He refers to ‘harassment’ and a ‘public vilification campaign’ following ‘his personal statements on the situation in Palestine and Lebanon’.
Willy Beauvallet-Haddad has been at the centre of turmoil for several weeks after a number of posts on social networks were uncovered. In one tweet, the academic paid tribute to Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September 2024. This was despite the group being classified as a terrorist organisation by many countries. ‘He died among his own for the great (Palestinian and Arab) cause and he has been added to the pantheon of our hearts and the great figures of history,’ he wrote.
Tensions have increased on the Lyon campus since the intimidation of Fabrice Balanche on April 1, who denounced in particular the growing influence of religious activism within the university. The professor was forced to leave one of his lectures after a dozen masked activists forced their way in.