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At a recent panel discussion, Professor Xavier-Laurent Salvador characterized wokeism as “elitist, totalitarian, and systemic,” warning that it poses a growing threat to French institutions. He noted that public funding is being used to impose principles of equality, secularity, and inclusivity in ways that undermine France’s traditional values. Salvador argued that the ideology has gained momentum under the current president’s policy of attracting American scholars who left the United States during the Trump administration.
“France is both a victim and a bulwark,” Salvador said, emphasizing that the nation’s values of liberty and equality are fundamentally incompatible with woke ideology. He pointed to universities as the main battleground, where chronic underfunding has left institutions dependent on European Union grants tied to ideological conditions. According to Salvador, this has resulted in militant rhetoric embedded in teaching and research. Drawing on his own experiences at Sorbonne Paris Nord, he described how wokeism has taken root within his university.
Salvador, who co-authored the book Face à l’obscurantisme woke (In the Face of Woke Obscurantism), also noted the challenges of publishing on the subject. The academic publisher Presses Universitaires de France (PUF) recently announced that it would suspend the book, a decision that he argued illustrates how deeply entrenched ideological pressures have become in French academic life.
Panelists also highlighted how cultural events reflect this trend. Leonardo Orlando cited the opening ceremony of the Olympics as an example, arguing that instead of uniting people, it presented a divisive and elitist interpretation of history. Rodrigo Ballister added that the groups most often described as marginalized in woke discourse are in fact privileged, enjoying broad visibility and significant influence over the cultural agenda.
The discussion also addressed the academic labor market. When asked whether professors and researchers adopt woke ideology out of conviction or financial necessity, Salvador stressed that the issue lies in recruitment. Human resources departments, he said, are largely staffed by committed adherents who actively seek to hire like-minded candidates, leading to a steady increase in true believers within academia.
All panelists agreed that the rise of wokeism has seriously weakened France’s academic institutions. They warned that it has fueled the overproduction of PhDs and created a cycle of research focused narrowly on ideological themes, offering little academic rigor or practical value.
