The CRef expresses its deep concern about the increasingly frequent attacks on universities, which undermine one of the essential foundations of any democratic society.
While these attacks take various forms—smear campaigns on social media targeting researchers or institutions, public questioning of scientific expertise, political or budgetary pressure on certain areas of research, attempts to interfere with teaching content, or media stigmatization of fields of study deemed "ideological"—they all share a common goal: to undermine what the university represents: a place of debate, doubt, criticism, and research. In a context of political polarization and societal tensions, certain actors seek either to impose their own narratives or to silence those of others.
These attacks are part of a discursive climate increasingly marked by the disqualification and stigmatization of various social categories, which now include researchers and academics, sometimes reduced to the figure of "self-proclaimed intellectuals."
This type of discourse, which draws on overtly populist motives, conflicts with the fundamental values of democratic debate. It contributes to accentuating social divisions and artificially pitting citizens against each other, to the detriment of social cohesion and informed deliberation. This logic, often summed up by the adage "divide and rule," weakens the very conditions for democratic coexistence.
It is worrying to note that these positions are not isolated, but are part of a broader dynamic observed in several regions of the world. In certain contexts, particularly in the United States, scientific work is openly challenged in favor of simplistic or ideologically-driven narratives, contributing to the emergence of a form of "post-truth" that marginalizes critical thinking and knowledge based on proven methods. Free thinking, scientific doubt, and the pursuit of knowledge based on scientific consensus are sometimes dismissed as markers of elites who are out of touch or even suspect.
From this perspective, there is a temptation to subordinate research to immediate, mainly economic, goals, or to subject the production of knowledge to political decisions defining what is useful, legitimate, true, or false. Such an orientation is incompatible with the very essence of scientific activity.
Like journalism, which plays a crucial role in informing citizens, scientific research aims to observe, analyze, and understand the world in all its complexity. This mission cannot be fulfilled without the full guarantee of academic freedom. This implies the absence of ideological, political, or economic pressures, the acceptance of uncertainty, and the valorization of doubt as a driver of knowledge progress—in the spirit of semper quaerens, which is the foundation of the scientific approach.
The university, and through it academic freedom, is one of the pillars of a democratic society oriented toward shared progress, serving the greatest number, which must be protected.
Council of Rectors of French-speaking Universities (CRef)
On February 7, the University of Liège held its doctoral degree ceremony. 265 new doctors were honored, as well as three ULiège ambassadors.
This new report highlights not only the remarkable dynamism of the academic community, but also the significant progress made during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Press release from the Council of Rectors dated January 26, 2026.
