the prefect orders the closure of a Muslim college in Nice

The prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Hugues Moutouh, announced Thursday March 14 that he had ordered the closure of the Avicenne college, a private Muslim establishment outside of a contract, “due to opaque financing and obvious financial irregularities”.

The college, which opened in 2015 and accommodates 99 students, will have to close at the end of the school year. The rectorate will contact families so that the children can return to other establishments in September.

The college’s lawyer, Me Sefen Guez Guez, announced on social networks that the establishment would challenge this decision before the administrative court.

On February 26, the Minister of National Education, Nicole Belloubet, announced that she wanted to close the Avicenne college, invoking the 2021 law against separatism, which requires private establishments outside of a contract to inform the administration of their financial resources.

According to a press release from the prefecture on Thursday, the college did not meet this requirement “both in substance and in form” during seventeen months of proceedings. The prefect also indicates that he reported to the public prosecutor’s office “the irregularities observed”.

Loans for €500,000

The prefecture mentions imprecise and untraceable operations, “suspicious loans” granted by individuals to the college for nearly €500,000, but also loans and donations granted by the college to third parties.

In February, the college refuted the minister’s criticism, ensuring that the establishment was “monitored by an accountant and (held) its accounts up to date with the tax administration since its opening ».

The rector of the Nice academy, Natacha Chicot, had clarified that the problem was indeed “the accounting and budgetary situation” from college: “At this stage, there have never been any alerts about possible recruitment or a situation of radicalization in this establishment. »