The Coud (University Center for Student Services) has announced the gradual reopening of the social campus starting this Thursday, February 26, 2026. At first glance, this seems like good news, as the academic calendar has already experienced enough disruptions and overlaps without the luxury of losing even more days. However, this reopening is currently generating more questions than enthusiasm, given the circumstances surrounding the announcement.

While the arrested students have been released, some unconditionally, others under judicial supervision, this measure is seen as a message of appeasement. The campus is also supposed to reopen after tensions have subsided. However, these tensions could rise again if the necessary prerequisites are not met. The question now is what kind of atmosphere students will enter when they return to campus.

Have discussions taken place and been the minimum consensus reached to ensure a calm and peaceful reopening of the campus? Or will the students return to campus only for clashes to resume a few days later? Currently, it is unclear whether the government will pay the outstanding scholarships or if it has decided to maintain its current position.

The public is also uncertain whether law enforcement will be withdrawn from the campus. Given the police brutality observed during the last intervention, peaceful coexistence with students on campus seems unlikely. So far, the authorities have made no statements aimed at calming tensions. The silence of the President and the Prime Minister clearly indicates their intention to maintain a firm stance on the issue. Otherwise, these high-ranking officials would have spoken out to soothe and reassure the public.

The statement from the student associations at UCAD confirms this impression. It denounces "a logic of imposing decisions" on the part of the authorities. According to the students, several meetings were held without their participation, even though the issues discussed directly concern them. Meanwhile, the student associations remain suspended at UCAD, although there is hope that the suspensions will be lifted immediately after classes resume.

In any case, this stance is unlikely to reassure either the students or their parents. Even if the latter allow their children to return to university, they will do so with considerable anxiety. In short, the atmosphere remains bleak at the university. And this anxiety is compounded by the deafening silence of the authorities, which does not bode well.

Reopening the campus is good, but we must ensure that calm and serenity prevail once students return. This necessarily involves dialogue. And no dialogue with students can take place without them. Therefore, it's essential to open channels of discussion immediately and anticipate potential challenges.