FT : Taiwan’s ruling party candidate wins presidential election

Taiwan’s ruling party candidate wins presidential election
Beijing says Lai Ching-te’s failure to secure majority shows DPP ‘does not represent majority public opinion’

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive party won an unprecedented third term in office on Saturday as voters defied China’s warnings against electing presidential candidate Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing called a dangerous separatist.

With more than 90 per cent of votes counted, Lai had won 40 per cent, according to the Central Election Commission. Hou Yu-ih from the Kuomintang, the largest opposition party, had 33.5 per cent of the vote and Ko Wen-je from the smaller Taiwan People’s party had attracted 26.5 per cent.

Although the DPP lost its parliamentary majority and Lai’s vote was more than 17 percentage points lower than President Tsai Ing-wen’s when she was re-elected in 2020, the party won a higher share of votes for its nationwide list of legislators-at-large than expected.

It is the first time since Taiwan began holding free and direct presidential elections in 1996 that any party has held power beyond two four-year terms.

In a reference to Lai’s failure to win an absolute majority and his party’s loss of its majority in parliament, China said the result “shows that the DPP does not represent majority public opinion on the island”.

The Taiwan Affairs Office, the Chinese government department implementing Taiwan policy, said: “We will work with relevant political parties, groups and people from all walks of life in Taiwan to promote cross-Strait exchanges and co-operation, deepen cross-Strait integrated development and jointly promote China culture, promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and promote the great cause of the reunification of the motherland.”

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and refuses to renounce the use of force to bring it under its control if the country rejects unification indefinitely. It had called the election a choice between war and peace and called on the Taiwanese to make the “right choice”.

On the eve of the polls, the People’s Liberation Army warned that it “remains on high alert at all times [to] smash ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist plots in any form”.

But in a statement marking his victory, Lai appealed to Beijing to find ways to communicate and lower tension. As long as the two sides could face each other in dignity and parity, he hoped to “replace confrontation with dialogue and confidently pursue exchanges with China”, Lai said.

He added that under Tsai, Taipei had not engaged in provocation. “We just hope to maintain our democratic and free way of life. I hope that in the future cross-Strait relations can return to healthy and orderly exchanges,” he said.

“The Taiwanese people have successfully resisted efforts by external forces to influence the results of this election. Only people of Taiwan have the right to elect our president.”

Beijing cut all communication with Taiwan’s government after the DPP came to power in 2016 because the party refuses to call the country part of China. The KMT says Taiwan belongs to a broader Chinese nation but disagrees with the Chinese Communist party over which state represents it.

Ko, who appealed to mostly young swing voters with promises of tax cuts, higher health and social spending and increasing government transparency, largely avoided talking about China in great detail.

In Washington, President Joe Biden reiterated the standard US line that “we do not support independence”.

Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US was committed to maintaining cross-Strait peace and stability, “and the peaceful resolution of differences, free from coercion and pressure”.

Mike Johnson, the US Republican House Speaker, congratulated Lai and said he was “happy to see democracy thriving among the Taiwanese people”. 

Johnson added that he would ask the Republican chairs of several committees in the House of Representatives to lead a delegation to Taiwan following the inauguration in May.

The Central Election Commission’s preliminary data showed that the DPP won 36.2 per cent of the legislative party list vote, 3 percentage points higher than in 2020, when Tsai won re-election with a record margin.

“The party list vote is a referendum of people’s real support for the respective parties,” said Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taipei. “According to these numbers, we have a much stronger showing for the DPP than expected.”

However, analysts said Lai faced a difficult term. He will probably lead the first minority government, raising the spectre of frequent deadlock over vital issues such as strengthening Taiwan’s defences to deter Chinese aggression. 

Lai said his government, which takes office on May 20, would seek consensus with the opposition before implementing policies and consider including people from other parties in his administration.

“The elections have shown us that people want an effective government and strong checks and balances,” he said. “We fully understand and respect this new public opinion.”

Additional reporting by Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington

>>> Weekend Papers Summary

Weekend Papers Summary

FINANCIAL TIMES
-Taiwanese voters are set to vote on a new president and parliament in a crucial election that could influence China's approach to the democratic nation. The eighth national vote since 1996 has been overshadowed by threats from Beijing, who claims Taiwan as part of its territory and refuses to use force to control it. The Democratic Progressive party candidate, Lai Ching-te, is the frontrunner.
-The Houthis have intensified their assaults, launching nearly 30 attacks against commercial vessels, seized at least one ship, and fired on American forces. This has caused companies like Maersk and BP to suspend transits through the Red Sea, disrupting global trade and increasing costs. The US has retaliated by deploying warships from the US, France, and UK to patrol the southern Red Sea and western Gulf of Aden, hoping other countries will deploy vessels to deter the rebels.
-The US has bombed Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen for the second day in a row, escalating the conflict. The attack on a radar facility was a follow-on from joint US-led strikes to degrade Houthi rebels' ability to disrupt commercial traffic in the Red Sea. The US and UK, backed by other allies, have struck over 60 Houthi targets at 30 locations.
-Citigroup is set to cut at least 20,000 jobs, accounting for 10% of its workforce, following its worst quarter in 14 years. The cuts could cost up to $1.8B but could save up to $2.5B a year by 2026. The bank reported a $1.8B loss in 2023, largely due to charges and expenses. Despite the disappointing performance, Citi CEO Jane Fraser praised progress in simplifying the bank and forecasting a turning point in 2024.
-Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned his ruling coalition to explore alternative methods to pursue central bank governor Adam Glapinski, who was accused of turning monetary policy into a political tool by the rightwing Law and Justice Party. The constitutional court ruled that lawmakers could not make Glapinski stand trial, and Tusk emphasized that the focus should not be on hunting Glapinski.
-Vienna is ranked as one of the most livable cities due to its focus on children's well-being rather than property developers. Children in Gleis 21 have a community of neighbors to support them. Meanwhile, leading cities like Hong Kong, Sydney, San Francisco, New York, and London are at risk of becoming child-free zones due to affordability issues. Primary schools in London boroughs are closing due to insufficient pupils.
-US aviation regulators have announced that the 737 Max 9 will remain grounded until Boeing provides additional data. The Federal Aviation Administration is analyzing data from initial inspections of 40 of the 170 grounded jets before lifting the flying ban imposed after a mid-air blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight. Boeing has provided instructions to airlines on how to inspect the planes.
-Nike, under the leadership of John Donahoe, has been struggling to maintain its dominance in the sport of running. In 2019, Nike's Vaporfly 4% running trainers were a technological breakthrough, allowing elite athletes to wear Nike shoes with the logo covered up. However, the Vaporflys, a carbon-fibre plate inserted into the midsole, have since been adopted by other brands. At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, athletes from other brands won more gold medals, highlighting the shift in the sportswear industry during Donahoe's tenure.
-The Iowa caucuses on Monday night will mark the start of the presidential primary season and test Donald Trump's frontrunner status for the White House nomination. The polls make Trump the clear frontrunner in a shrinking field of Republicans vying for the party's presidential nomination. Iowans will show whether the former president is living up to the billing. Subscribers can share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service.
-Israel has denied South Africa's allegations of genocide against Palestinians during the Gaza war, arguing that the allegations are "profoundly distorted". South Africa brought the case under the 1948 Genocide Convention, claiming that Israel committed genocide by killing Palestinians, causing serious physical and mental harm, and inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.
-Beijing has negotiated a formal ceasefire between Myanmar's military and a rebel guerrilla alliance, marking a test for China's ability to mediate in foreign conflicts. The Myanmar military and rebel alliance agreed to withdraw military personnel and ceasefire at talks in Kunming, ensuring the safety of Chinese border residents and personnel involved in projects in Myanmar.

THE NEW YORK TIMES
-The US has led a second strike against Houthis in Yemen as the conflict escalates. The military fired at a target in response to rising attacks on Red Sea shipping, which the Houthis linked to the war between Israel and Hamas.
-American-Led strikes leave yamen back on the brink of war. Yemen’s Houthi militia, shaped by years of civil war, says that it welcomes a battle with the United States and that strikes will not stop its Red Sea attacks.
-With the U.S.-led attacks in Yemen, the war in Gaza has escalated into a wider conflict. How wide will it get?
-Speaker Mike Johnson is facing intense pressure from far-right Republicans to abandon the agreement he struck with Democrats to keep the government funded.
-The House spent $40,000 on identification pins, even as most of its Republican members publicly condemned spending.
-Taiwan holds election for a new leader amid threats from China. The race pits the governing party, which has emphasized the island’s sovereignty, against an opposition that favors reviving engagement with China.
-Federal scientists recommend easing restrictions on marijuana. Researchers found that cannabis may have medical uses and is less likely to cause harm than drugs like heroin, newly disclosed documents show.
-Republican candidates have spent heavily in Iowa, but the state is seeing fewer visitors, and winter storms have upended events and travel plans.
-In Iowa, candidates are fighting the weather — and each other — just ahead of the caucuses.
-Ron DeSantis has made lots of changes to try to revamp his struggling campaign. But he rarely tries talking about himself.
-Donald Trump’s lawyers may question whether the documents he took from the White House were related to national defense, and whether it put security at risk. A Trump lawyer asked a judge for more time to review allegations of a relationship between two Georgia prosecutors.
-Bruce Falck, who left Twitter during Elon Musk’s takeover bid, had other things on his mind: completing a longed-for family home in Northern California.
-UFO’s remain a mystery to lawmakers after classified briefing. Members of the House went into a confidential briefing hoping for answers about what the government knows about alien life. They emerged with more questions.

THE NEW YORK POST
-Plaintiff E. Jean Carroll has warned that Donald Trump will flout court orders during his $10M defamation trial in Manhattan. Carroll, who claimed Trump sexually abused her in 1996, claims Trump will not heed the judge's instructions if he takes the stand. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan has found Trump liable for defamation, and Carroll is asking for more than $10M in damages. The trial will determine the amount of damages Trump must pay, in addition to the $5M ordered by jurors in a separate case.
-The Federal Reserve system experienced a record loss last year due to increased income expenses, according to preliminary figures. The negative $114.3B in federal income after expenses was attributed to a rise in interest expenses during a rate hike campaign to combat inflation. The Fed paid a mix of financial institutions $281.1B in 2022, while earning interest from bonds totaled $163.8B. Operating expenses at 12 regional banks stood at $5.5B in 2023.

FT : Taiwan begins counting votes in pivotal election as China looms large

Taiwan begins counting votes in pivotal election as China looms large
Outcome of poll set to influence Beijing’s approach to territory it claims as its own

Taiwan started counting votes on Saturday afternoon in a pivotal presidential and parliamentary election that could influence China’s approach to its democratic neighbour.

The eighth national vote since the country of 23.5mn first held free and direct presidential elections in 1996 has been overshadowed by threats from Beijing.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and refuses to renounce the use of force to bring it under its control if the country rejects unification indefinitely. On the eve of the polls, the People’s Liberation Army warned that it “remains on high alert at all times [to] smash ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist plots in any form”.

Lai Ching-te, the candidate from the Democratic Progressive party whom Beijing has denounced as a dangerous separatist, was the frontrunner in a close three-way race until a polling blackout took effect 10 days ago. In Taiwan’s first-past-the post electoral system, candidates can win with a simple majority.

Lai competes with Hou Yu-ih from the Kuomintang, which sees Taiwan as part of a broader Chinese nation but disagrees with Beijing over which state represents it, and Ko Wen-je, founder of the Taiwan People’s party, which targets swing voters.

Although many voters have expressed fatigue with ideological rhetoric and said they wanted a new government to reinvigorate the economy, the candidates have cast the election as a matter of national survival in their final pitches.

“In the past eight years, we refused to lock ourselves in to China and bow to authoritarianism. That proves that we hold our fate in our own hands,” Lai shouted at a massive rally on Friday night. “That is the power to defend Taiwan.” Calling the KMT candidate “China’s preferred choice”, Lai said if Taiwan reversed the DPP’s course of weaning it off economic over-dependence on China, foreign investors might abandon the country.

At the KMT’s rival event, which the party said was attended by 250,000 people, Hou told supporters: “Lai Ching-te takes us on the path to war, Hou Yu-ih is on the path of peace!” He accused the DPP government of corruption and pledged to pursue dialogue with China to lower tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

Ko, the candidate most popular with young voters, was the only of the three to talk about policy proposals in some detail, promising tax reform and steep increases in spending for healthcare, public housing and rent subsidies.

“We will win back this country [from the two big parties], we will win a just and fair future,” he said, addressing a crowd in front of the presidential office in Taipei that the TPP put at 350,000.

Global attention is focused on whether the DPP can become the first party in Taiwan’s democratic history to cling to power beyond two terms, a scenario some observers worry could heighten cross-strait tension.

“Lai Ching-te has pledged to continue the prudent China policy of [incumbent president] Tsai Ing-wen, but if the DPP wins again, such a result could compel [Chinese president] Xi Jinping to believe that his chances for unification without war are running out,” said a western diplomat in Taipei.

But the three parties have most of their attention focused on the legislative vote. The DPP, which holds 63 of the 113 seats in parliament, was likely to lose that slim majority, leaving the country with a minority government that would probably lead to constant deadlock, campaign officials said.

The result of the presidential race is expected to become clear in the early evening, a few hours after polls close at 4pm.

Outside a polling station in Hsinchuang, a Taipei suburb, a queue of nearly 100 people snaked around the corner at 9am. Han Wei-jung, a 30-year-old nurse, said he would vote for Ko Wen-je. “We have to move beyond blue and green,” he said, referring to the KMT and DPP by the two big parties’ colours.

CrunchBase : The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Fever Heats Up Week With $110

The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Fever Heats Up Week With $110M Round

This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last year’s biggest funding rounds here.

It usually takes a couple of weeks after New Year’s Day for the funding market to heat up, but this week already saw three raises hit nine figures. In addition, funding was spread through a variety of sectors, including entertainment, cyber, gaming, health care and others. We even saw a well-known company that hasn’t raised cash for seven years lock up a big round.

1. Fever, $110M, entertainment: Just about two years ago, New York-based Fever raised $227 million in a round led by the growth equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management valuing it at more than $1 billion. Fast-forward to this month and the live-entertainment discovery platform is back raising cash: a $110 million round at a $1.8 billion valuation led by Goldman Sachs. The startup helps curate experiences for users in their locales and helps organizers find new audiences. Founded in 2014, the company has raised nearly $409 million, per Crunchbase.

2. (tied) ExtraHop, $100M, cybersecurity: Cybersecurity funding has certainly calmed down in the last two years, but that does not mean there are no big rounds. Seattle-based ExtraHop, a network detection and response startup, closed $100 million in growth capital from undisclosed existing investors. ExtraHop says it ended 2023 with approximately $200 million in ARR. The company’s platform discovers rogue and unmanaged devices, detects late-stage attack activity, and remediates threats. Founded in 2007, the company has raised nearly $162 million, per Crunchbase.

2. (tied) Second Dinner, $100M, gaming: It’s rare that a game developer comes up this high on the list, but Second Dinner locked up a top spot with a $100 million Series B led by Griffin Gaming Partners this week. The Los Angeles-based game development studio is behind the popular game MARVEL SNAP — which has been downloaded more than 22 million times and produced $200 million-plus in revenue since its launch in 2022. Founded in 2018, the company has raised $130 million, per Crunchbase.

4. Harbor Health, $96M, health care: General Catalyst has big plans for investing in health care, and this deal seems to prove it. The firm led a $95.5 million round for Austin, Texas-based primary and specialty clinic group Harbor Health. The health care startup will use the new cash for its expansion plans — it now has eight locations in Central Texas with more planned. Founded in 2022, the company has raised nearly $126 million, per Crunchbase.

5. Quora, $75M, information services: it’s been a while, but apparently Quora has not forgotten how to raise money. This week the Mountain View, California-based Q&A website raised its first funding since 2017, locking up another $75 million from Andreessen Horowitz. Why did the well-known platform go back to fundraising? Well, for AI of course. The company raised the fresh capital to help push growth for Poe, its AI chat platform. Founded in 2009, the company has now raised $301 million, per Crunchbase.

6. Rokid, $70M, augmented reality: Redwood City, California-based AR goggle developer Rokid raised approximately $70 million from the Hefei Municipal Government. Founded in 2014, the company has raised more than $535 million, per Crunchbase.

7. (tied) 120Water, $43M, water: Zionsville, Indiana-based water management and testing system 120Water raised a $43 million round led by Edison Partners. Founded in 2016, the company has now raised more than $54 million, per Crunchbase.

7. (tied) Luma, $43M, artificial intelligence: Palo Alto, California-based Luma, which helps users develop 3D models using AI, raised a $43 million Series B round with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and others. Founded in 2021, the company has raised more than $68 million, per Crunchbase.

9. Artisight, $42M, health care: Chicago-based smart hospital platform Artisight raised a $42 million Series B from new strategic and health system investors and previous investors, including Nvidia. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $57 million, per Crunchbase.

10. Impact Analytics, $40M, software: Linthicum Heights, Maryland-based Impact Analytics, a developer of retail and consumer goods software, closed a $40 million round led by Sageview Capital. Founded in 2015, the company has raised nearly $62 million, per Crunchbase.

Big global deals
Despite some big raises in the U.S., the largest raise of the week came from the Netherlands.

  • Amsterdam-based Picnic, a home delivery platform for consumer goods, raised a venture round worth approximately $389 million.

WWD : Bal Harbour Shops’ Transformation Plan

Bal Harbour Shops’ Transformation Plan
The owner of the luxury shopping center has proposed adding 528 residential units and a boutique hotel that could replace Saks Fifth Avenue.

Bal Harbour Shops has unveiled a grand transformation plan to develop market rate and affordable housing and a five-star hotel, adding to its large luxury retail expansion in progress and ultimately creating a “village center.”

Though construction is still years away, the plan suggests a bright future for Bal Harbour Shops, Miami’s highly productive open-air, luxury shopping and dining center, though Saks Fifth Avenue, a longtime tenant, may or may not be part of it.

In 2020, Bal Harbour Shops sought to evict Saks, claiming “extensive arrearages,” including overdue rent. A lawsuit against Saks was filed, seeking to terminate the lease and evict the store. Saks countersued, claiming Matthew Whitman Lazenby, president and chief executive officer of Whitman Family Development, the owners of Bal Harbour Shops, breached the parties’ contract and Bal Harbour’s fiduciary duty and that in an effort to increase pressure on the retailer to resolve the dispute related to lease payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lazenby disclosed confidential information to the media. The litigation is ongoing.

Bal Harbour Shops intends to build a 70-room hotel where Saks currently sits in the shopping center. Saks opened its three-level, 180,000-square-foot store at Bal Harbour Shops in 1976, becoming the center’s second anchor tenant, following Neiman Marcus, which opened there five years before.

Lazenby, while mentioning the plan to replace Saks with a hotel, declined to comment on the litigation or the terms of the Saks lease.

Getting a hotel built could depend on the outcome of the court case, or an expiration of the lease, though that seems far off. A Saks stores spokesperson said the retailer signed its lease in 1974, which was extended to 2077, and added that Saks, at Bal Harbour Shops, “has always been a good partner and tenant, a significant part of the success of Bal Harbour Shops, and expects to continue to be part of that success for many years to come.”

“Throughout our long-term lease, we have made significant capital investments to ensure we provide the best possible luxury shopping experience for Bal Harbour customers,” the spokesperson said. “Bal Harbour Shops’ ongoing attempt to evict Saks is wrongful and it is clear that they are not acting in good faith. Saks Fifth Avenue will continue to defend itself vigorously and has strong legal arguments in place to do so. We also intend to oppose Bal Harbour Shops’ unapproved and unwanted plans by all legal means at our disposal.”

Whitman Family Development last Tuesday submitted plans for the mixed-use development on its 18-acre property. It involves creating three towers comprising 528 apartments, 40 percent of which would be designated for families with incomes of $90,000 or less. One of the towers is planned on land once reserved for a Barneys New York opening, but Barneys went bankrupt and liquidated, nixing that plan.

The project, once completed, would energize Bal Harbour Shops and the community by bringing residents to the area, including those that could potentially get jobs in the center, those inclined to shop the center, and tourists staying in the hotel.

The development is made possible by Florida’s Live Act, a bipartisan bill passed by the Florida legislature last year to stimulate affordable housing development, which is seriously lacking in Miami and other U.S. cities. According to a statement from Whitman Family Development, the legislation enables developers to build greater density and reach building heights within the scale of the surrounding area, so long as they commit to including attainable housing units. The law requires that local municipalities approve mixed-use residential projects in any area zoned commercial through an administrative review process, allowing developers to accelerate their timelines. In exchange, property owners must commit to designating at least 40 percent of all residential units as attainable or affordable housing for at least 30 years.

Transforming Bal Harbour Shops into a mixed-use destination is not a new idea that sprung out of the legislation.

“My grandfather had a vision that contemplated multiple uses. We’ve got renderings that show a tower for a hotel or office or some combination of, and we were working with Ritz Carlton in the ’80s,” Lazenby told WWD, referencing his grandfather, the late visionary developer of Bal Harbour Shops, Stanley Whitman. “But for the past 20 years, we’ve focused on the retail expansion. But this plan submitted finally makes that hotel vision and bringing residential in possible, to really create a pure village center, and activate the site 24 hours a day. In the past, we’ve lamented that at 9 p.m. everyone goes home and this place goes dark.” Having people residing at the site would change the vibe.

Additionally, as Lazenby said, “It’s our intention to start with affordable workforce housing that addresses a critical need — the Miami area has the greatest housing cost burden of any SMA in the country.”

Under Florida’s new law for the new development to happen, at least 65 percent footage of the Bal Harbour site must be residential. Of the 528 residential units planned, 300 would be at market rates, and 228 affordable.

The center’s retail expansion will add about 250,000 square feet of additional space, bringing the shopping center to about 700,000 square feet. Lazenby said the retail growth will enlarge Bal Harbour Shops’ workforce to about 2,000 employees from the current 1,200. Per the new law, with retail expansion, there must be at least 2.1 million square feet of residential.

“When you take well-executed retail and add to that a well-executed luxury residential and affordable housing components for fire workers, police, teachers, retirees, young professionals, we hope the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts,” Lazenby said.

Getting approvals for the residential/hotel development, Lazenby said, won’t be an ordeal, since Florida has created a streamlined process for it to help alleviate the state’s affordable housing crisis. Lazenby said construction on the development is still at least two years away, with approvals, finalized design plans and financing needed. Also, operators for the residential and hotel components would have to be designated.

Asked if finding labor has been an issue for Bal Harbour Shops, Lazenby said, “I’m not aware of a shortage of quality retail workers. Restaurants do express a concern.”

That’s largely because most restaurant workers cannot afford to live near or within a reasonable distance of Bal Harbour Shops, where housing rents are as high as $7,000 to $8,000 a month. Lazenby also said that the Miami Country Dade School, where he serves as president of the board, struggles to get teachers because they can’t afford to live close enough. In addition to owning Bal Harbour Shops, located at 9700 Collins Avenue, Whitman Family Development has a minority equity interest in the retail component of Brickell City Centre.

Lazenby said a 70-room, five-star hotel “in line with all of the retail brands,” is envisioned. The market rate apartments would have residents that fit a luxury customer profile. Also, the development would bring 45,700 square feet of additional retail space.

The plans were filed with the Village of Bal Harbour. Once building permits are issued, the multiphase project will begin developing that attainable housing tower on the property’s southwest corner, followed by luxury residential units, and the boutique hotel, depending on the Saks court case, or if an alternative site could be determined. The plans indicate the new towers will rise to about 275 feet, consistent with adjacent buildings in the village, including the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort across the street.

Separately, Bal Harbour Shops’ $550 million, 200,000-square-foot retail expansion is slowly progressing, delayed by COVID-19, material costs and other factors. Space in the expansion will be occupied by a combination of certain luxury brands entering Bal Harbour Shops, such as Dior, Cartier, Gabriela Hearst and Eden Gallery Art, and others such as Graff, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta and Burberry relocating existing stores to the expansion, typically with larger spaces.

“We are pushing hard to make a 2025 opening, but certainly it will happen by 2026,” Lazenby said.

WSJ : A Potential Mega-IPO Is in U.S.-China Crosshairs

A Potential Mega-IPO Is in U.S.-China Crosshairs
Shein’s listing plans likely depend on the fashion giant’s ability to satisfy both Beijing and Washington

The initial public offering of fashion giant Shein could be one of biggest in years—if the company successfully navigates a minefield of U.S.-China tensions.

China-founded Shein, now based in Singapore, has quickly become one of the world’s largest fast-fashion retailers, valued at around $66 billion in its most recent fundraising round last year.

Now its IPO depends on its ability to satisfy authorities on both sides of the Pacific.

Two months after Shein confidentially filed for an IPO, the Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to respond in writing to its filing, according to people familiar with the matter. The delay is highly unusual, capital-market attorneys and bankers say.

The reasons for the SEC’s silence aren’t clear. People close to the company and in Washington say it could reflect the agency’s reluctance to take on a hot-button issue with potential political implications.

According to SEC’s guidelines for confidential IPO filing by foreign companies, “circumstances may develop” in which SEC staff direct foreign issuers to publicly file a registration statement even though they would appear to be eligible for confidential treatment.

Companies typically bristle at public filings. Filing confidentially allows companies to keep sensitive business and financial data away from public eyes during discussions with regulators, and those stay private if a deal doesn’t ultimately go through.

Shein has taken steps over the years to distance itself from its Chinese roots, including by moving its headquarters to Singapore. It sells its wares in more than 150 countries but doesn’t have customers in China. But with the bulk of its supply chain and back offices in China, it is still necessary for Shein to secure Beijing’s blessing on its U.S. listing, lawyers, bankers and analysts say.

The company has filed the paperwork for its U.S. application with the China Securities Regulatory Commission and is in continuing discussions with the regulator, according to people familiar with the matter.

Shein’s conundrum shows how U.S.-China tensions increasingly pose challenges beyond conventional business practices for multinationals. Its application represents the first big test of how Washington and Beijing will view a U.S. listing of a high-profile company with roots in China since the ill-fated IPO by ride-hailing giant Didi Global in 2021.

Didi decided to go ahead with its listing despite suggestions from Chinese authorities to delay it, The Wall Street Journal reported. Chinese authorities promptly launched a probe into Didi’s data infrastructure, ordered it to stop registering new users and forced some of its popular apps to be taken down. Valued at $68.4 billion the day of its debut, Didi’s shares plummeted and the company delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in less than a year.

In March, the China Securities Regulatory Commission rolled out new guidelines that require Chinese companies planning to go public outside mainland China to submit their listing documents to the regulator and obtain its formal approval. The guidelines lay out a number of factors to determine what should be considered a Chinese company, including whether a company has more than half of its assets or most of its business activities in the mainland.

Shein is incorporated in Singapore and doesn’t have any revenue from China. It relies mostly on third-party contractors there for production. But Beijing may nonetheless treat it as a Chinese company and add complications for Shein if the company is perceived to go against Beijing’s agenda, including by ordering domestic manufacturers to stop working with the company.

“The balancing act of operating supply chains in one country while generating sales in another is becoming an increasingly complex challenge, potentially presenting difficulties on both fronts,” said Jing Qian, managing director of the Asia Society’s Center for China Analysis. “Navigating and resolving these multifaceted complexities is crucial for their continued survival.”

A central tenet of Shein’s predicament is how to address concerns over the cotton it uses in its clothing.

Shein has in recent years come under allegations that it has sourced cotton from China’s Xinjiang region. A 2022 U.S. law largely bans the import of goods tied to that region, where the U.S. has accused Chinese authorities of committing genocide and of using forced labor in its repression of mostly Muslim Uyghurs. Beijing has denied the allegations.

The company has said it has “zero tolerance” for forced labor and complies with laws in the markets where it operates.

Still, some U.S. lawmakers see Shein as a company with close ties to the Communist Party that has potentially violated U.S. law. They have urged the SEC to halt Shein’s IPO until the company shows sufficient transparency about its supply chain. A congressional committee is investigating Shein’s labor practices and the origins of its cotton.

Companies viewed in China as bowing to Western criticism of Beijing’s practices in Xinjiang have faced swift retaliation. Shein’s European competitor H&M Group, for instance, was wiped from China’s mobile apps after it said it would stop sourcing products from Xinjiang, effectively erasing its e-commerce presence in China as state media criticized companies that “earn a huge profit in China while slandering China.” H&M has since returned to some apps.

Shein’s rival Temu has also faced allegations it uses Xinjiang cotton in the U.S. Temu, backed by Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings, has said the allegations are “completely ungrounded.” The company said in a response to an inquiry from the China-focused U.S. congressional committee that it doesn’t “explicitly prohibit” the selling of products from Xinjiang by third-party sellers.

Shein has been carefully navigating escalating geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. as it has sought to establish itself as a global company. It has beefed up its compliance system. It has also ramped up its federal lobbying efforts in the past year and half, with its lobbying expenses totaling nearly $1.8 million, according to OpenSecrets, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying.

Shein has said it continues its policy and public engagement to “demonstrate transparency across the business.”

Before Shein’s confidential filing in November, bankers at the company’s underwriters, which include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, told the company its offering should be approved by the SEC and that the listing could be possible as early as this summer, according to people familiar with the matter.

The SEC’s lack of response has put the company on edge, according to a person close to the company. Typically, the SEC formally replies to confidential filings within 30 calendar days, capital-markets attorneys say.

Earlier this month, the company hired Kent Knutson, a veteran retail lobbyist to be its chief government affairs officer. Shein has hired Teneo, a public-relations firm where Paul Ryan, the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, serves as vice chairman.

Recently, Shein appears to be enjoying a generally positive image in China. Chinese state media in December ran glowing articles about the company. State news agency Xinhua touted Shein as a “super unicorn” in one recent article that depicted Shein as a company with roots in southern China that has grown big from there.

Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the Chinese securities regulator, said in a conference this week that the regulator will steadfastly promote the opening of China’s capital market and work together with all parties to make overseas listing mechanisms better, according to Xinhua. Fang added that listing overseas has pushed Chinese companies to improve their internal management and provided a useful reference for China to regulate its own capital markets.

WSJ : Luxury Hand-Me-Downs Are Now Worth Billions of Dollars

Luxury Hand-Me-Downs Are Now Worth Billions of Dollars
Shoppers are increasingly turning to secondhand websites to sell barely-used designer clothes and handbags. Big brands aren’t happy about it.

As much as luxury companies would love to stamp out the secondhand trade in their products, it’s an impossible task. All the better for fashionistas and investors, who can both benefit from this booming business.

Shoppers have splashed out $1.3 trillion on new luxury handbags, clothes, watches and jewels over the past four years alone. At least some of that stuff will find its way onto secondhand websites. While in the past, unworn luxury goods would gather dust at the back of consumers’ wardrobes, the rise of online luxury resellers like The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective has made it easy for millions of people to sell their designer goods for cash.

Secondhand luxury products worth 45 billion euros, or $49.3 billion at current exchange rates, were sold worldwide in 2023, based on Bain & Company estimates. The resale market has roughly doubled in size in four years and is now equivalent to 12% of the value of the market for new personal luxury goods.

That is big enough for designers to sit up and take notice. Brands have legitimate worries that fakes may be passed off as the real thing on secondhand websites, some of which don’t have stringent authentication checks. But they also dislike how easy it has become for consumers to see which goods keep their value and which ones don’t. “I think brands are watching their resale value very closely,” says Sasha Skoda, The RealReal’s senior director of merchandising. “They are curious to figure out how they can get more data around it.”

For a handful of luxury companies, resale values are flattering as buyers pay up to avoid waiting lists. On average, used Hermès handbags are 25% more expensive than new ones, and scarce designs get an even higher premium. A basic Birkin 25 bag, which costs roughly $10,000 to buy new in one of Hermès’ U.S. boutiques, will set shoppers back $24,000 or more from major resale dealers like Privé Porter. Similarly, used watches made by Rolex and Patek Philippe sell at average premiums of 20% and 39%, respectively, based on data from WatchCharts.

But most labels show wear and tear at resale. Handbags made by Louis Vuitton lose 40% of their value on average when they are resold, according to data from The RealReal. Christian Dior’s bags almost halve in value.
Some investors are buying detailed data from the likes of WatchCharts to get cues about which stocks to purchase or avoid. For example, although Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet are all privately owned businesses, strong resale values are usually a good omen for Watches of Switzerland. The U.K.-listed luxury watch retailer gets 60% of its revenue from sales of the three coveted brands.

Resale data also provides early clues about whether or not brand makeovers are working. The secondhand value of goods from Italian luxury label Salvatore Ferragamo, which is in the middle of a revamp, has jumped on The RealReal over the past year. In contrast, Burberry’s average resale value has fallen 17%. This isn’t a good sign for the brand, which in late 2022 hired new creative director Daniel Lee to improve lackluster sales.

The top brands of Paris-listed luxury group Kering also look weak. It owns Gucci, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, whose used values have slipped 10%, 14% and 23% respectively over the past year.

The data can also reveal whether aggressive price increases, meant to make brands seem more desirable and exclusive, are having the intended effect. In the case of Chanel, the answer seems to be no. The privately owned French brand hiked the price of its popular medium-size Classic Flap bag by more than 70% during the pandemic. The bag’s secondhand price hasn’t kept up, widening the secondhand discount, though it is still narrower than for most peers.

While this kind of information can be valuable to investors, owning resale stocks themselves hasn’t paid off. Shares in money-losing The RealReal have fallen more than 90% since the company’s initial public offering in 2019.

For luxury companies, one question posed by the data is whether they can influence their resale values by intervening directly in the secondhand market. So far, this isn’t happening much. Gucci, Stella McCartney and Burberry all dipped their toes into it through partnerships with resale websites, but the moves proved minor or temporary.

Rolex is an exception. In late 2022, the Swiss watchmaker launched a certified preowned watch program that is turning out to be a savvy business move. Early signs are that shoppers are willing to pay extra for used watches that have been verified by Rolex.

A Rolex 126500 Daytona timepiece costs $15,100 to buy new. As the model is scarce, an unauthorized dealer can sell a used one for $32,300 according to WatchCharts estimates. However, a used Daytona sold through the Rolex certified initiative can fetch $37,000 or more.

Controlling the resale market this way can work for high-value, low-volume brands like Rolex. But clothing and handbag makers would need to buy back vast amounts of secondhand stock, which is likely to dilute their profits.

That leaves most luxury companies with no good answer to the booming resale market. Shoppers will continue to find bargains, and investors can unearth a treasure trove of data.

Franc Tireur : Antisémitisme : les amphis de la peur

Antisémitisme : les amphis de la peur

Même si les autorités de tutelle ont bien réagi et su la contenir, une ­déferlante de haine a frappé nos universités. Certains étudiants et enseignants, défenseurs du Hamas, manifestent ouvertement leur hostilité à l’encontre des Juifs. Ceux-ci se sont vus ciblés, intimidés, menacés par des tags, des graffitis ou de l’affichage sauvage. Un climat délétère qui évoque ce que vivent les campus aux États-Unis. Sommes-nous suffisamment armés ?

Octobre 2023. Quelques jours après les attaques du Hamas contre Israël, Sarah, étudiante à Tolbiac, découvre sur le mur des toilettes du 14e étage de son département ce tag tout frais : « Mort aux Juifs ». Au même moment, Ruben, de Paris-Créteil, est ajouté d’autorité sur un mystérieux groupe Whats­App baptisé « Défouloir ». ­

Certains, au prétexte de soutenir la Palestine, y inscrivent des étudiants juifs dont ils ont déniché les numéros de téléphone et les insultent. La même semaine, à Sciences-Po, Chloé colle un tract pour rendre hommage à Omri Ram, ex-élève de l’école assassiné le 7 octobre. Un étudiant recouvre son affiche et la bouscule. Pire, elle est dénoncée sur les réseaux car elle a « pensé » aux otages ! Parallèlement, Julien se rend compte que ça s’échauffe sur le groupe WhatsApp de sa promo en licence. Alors qu’un de ses camarades ­souhaite organiser une manif pour la Palestine, un autre propose de s’armer de couteaux et de passer par l’école juive, proche de l’université. À l’Institut catholique de Paris, c’est la section locale de l’Union des étudiants juifs de France (UEJF) qui reçoit ce message anonyme : « Niquez vos mères les feujs de mes deux. »

Ces témoignages, parmi des dizaines d’autres recueillis par l’UEJF dans les jours qui ont suivi les massacres du Hamas, montrent que la vague d’antisémitisme mondiale touche aussi les universités ­françaises. Elle ne pouvait qu’y trouver un terrain favorable si l’on en croit le sondage de l’Ifop publié en septembre, un mois avant le pogrom : 91 % des ­étudiants juifs interrogés reconnaissent avoir déjà été victimes d’un acte antisémite durant leur scolarité.
llustration : Laura Acquaviva

Cette vague anti-juive gagne aussi le corps enseignant. Au lendemain des massacres, un professeur d’Assas promet à ses étudiants retardataires des mesures de rétorsion « façon Hamas » : « Vous êtes en retard, je vais faire comme la rave », mais aussi « il faut des roquettes pour vous réveiller ? » Ailleurs, les interventions de certains flirtent avec l’apologie du terrorisme. Alberto Alemanno, professeur à HEC, bien que se disant « horrifié » par l’attaque du Hamas, la définit comme un « soulèvement des colonisés ». À l’université Paris Cité, le chercheur Choukri Hmed publie sur son mur Facebook le lendemain du pogrom un post avec un parapente, supprimé depuis. Une allusion claire au modus ­operandi du Hamas pour attaquer Israël, publiée par un soutien affiché de l’antisémite et indigéniste Houria ­Bouteldja. Plus directe encore, ­Ludivine Bantigny, fan des Indigènes de la République, enseignante dans le secondaire mais ­toujours associée au laboratoire d’histoire de l’université de Rouen-Normandie, déclare dès le 8 octobre que la « résistance [palestinienne] est non seulement légitime mais nécessaire et bien sûr qu’elle passe aussi par les armes ».

Cela aurait pu rester des cas isolés si l’ambiance, délétère, n’avait pas été amplifiée par les organisations politiques et syndicales d’extrême gauche, très présentes aussi bien chez les étudiants que chez les professeurs. Relais de La France insoumise à l’université, l’Union étudiante, qui est passée devant l’Unef lors des dernières élections, a refusé de condamner le pogrom. Elle n’y voit qu’une conséquence du « régime d’apartheid violent » que subiraient les Palestiniens « depuis plus de soixante-dix ans ». Même à Gaza, où Tsahal a quitté les lieux et évacué les derniers colons il y a bientôt vingt ans ? Apparemment, oui. Le député LFI Antoine ­Léaument s’est rendu à Paris-Nanterre, le 10 octobre, pour leur prêter main-forte et réaffirmer qu’Israël « a aussi une politique terroriste ». Au même titre que le Hamas, donc ? Mais il est vrai que LFI ne sait pas si le Hamas est une organisation terroriste.

Poing levé, collectif étudiant de Révolution ­permanente, est allé encore plus loin. Scission du Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste (NPA) menée par le syndicaliste Anasse Kazib, très populaire chez les jeunes grâce à son « ambassadrice » Adèle Haenel, l’organisation s’est empressée d’apporter son ­«­ soutien à la résistance palestinienne » avant même la fin de l’opération Déluge d’Al-Aqsa. Elle a notamment relayé le message d’une de leurs militantes se ­ félicitant qu’« après des décennies d’humiliation, les Palestiniens luttent pour reprendre leurs terres et leur dignité et montrent qu’il est possible de se battre contre Israël ». Même en tuant, violant et torturant des civils par centaines ?

Pas en reste, la Ligue de la jeunesse révolutionnaire (groupuscule d’extrême gauche) a tagué les murs et noyé de tracts à la gloire du Hamas le campus du Mirail, à Toulouse… pour se plaindre du fait que « les héroïques résistants de Palestine sont appelés des terroristes ». Mais aussi pour se réjouir : « Gaza s’étend, la décolonisation commence. » Tremblez, sionistes de Tel-Aviv ou des villages arabes de Galilée !

GLORIFICATION DU HAMAS
À Nanterre, c’est le NPA qui fait la loi. Or le parti trotskiste avait très tôt affiché « son soutien aux Palestinien/nes et aux moyens de lutte qu’ils et elles ont choisis pour résister ». Pogrom compris ? Sa branche Jeunes, qui contrôle l’Union nationale des étudiants de France (Unef) à Nanterre, y ajoute un soupçon de complotisme : « L’État d’Israël prend appui sur les attaques du Hamas et de la résistance palestinienne pour continuer leur entreprise de ­colonisation […] et commencer un réel nettoyage ­ethnique. »

À la prestigieuse EHESS, c’est Solidaires étudiant-e-s qui, dès le 9 octobre, apporte son « soutien indéfectible à la lutte du peuple palestinien dans toutes ses modalités et formes de lutte, y compris la lutte armée ». Bébés compris ? À Sciences-Po, sur le campus de Menton, spécialisé dans le monde arabe, l’initiative « Sciences Palestine », soutenue par Solidaires étudiant-e-s, assimile, elle aussi, le pogrom du Hamas à la résistance : « Hier des résistants de Gaza ont lancé une attaque contre Israël », peut-on lire sur leur tract du 8 octobre.

Glorification du Hamas en toute bonne conscience décoloniale, soutien au massacre de 1 200 Israéliens, lequel est comparé à un acte de résistance, attaques contre les étudiants juifs sous prétexte de solidarité supposée avec Israël, déluge d’amalgames soutenus par des organisations étudiantes et des profs : tous les ingrédients sont réunis pour que les universités françaises connaissent les mêmes dérives que les campus américains, gangrenés par l’antisémitisme, et où les étudiants juifs craignent légitimement pour leur sécurité.

Outre-Atlantique, une campagne menée par les Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) et Black Lives Matter assimile le terrorisme du Hamas à de la « résistance » légitime, et va jusqu’à inciter à la violence : « Libérer la Palestine » doit passer « non ­seulement par des slogans et des rassemblements, mais par une confrontation armée avec les oppresseurs ». De quoi mettre clairement en danger les étudiants juifs sur les campus, selon l’Anti-­Defamation League (ADL), ONG de lutte contre le racisme et l’antisémitisme. Là-bas comme ici, des professeurs ont surenchéri. À l’université de Cornell, l’un d’eux a déclaré publiquement que l’attaque du Hamas était à la fois « exaltante » et « énergisante ». Toujours selon l’ADL, des enseignants se sont livrés à des vexations discriminatoires. À Stanford, un chargé de TD a demandé aux étudiants israéliens de s’identifier et de se tenir dans un coin : « C’est ce qu’Israël fait aux Palestiniens […] Israël est un colonisateur. » Résultat de cette propagande : une explosion d’actes antisémites. Notamment à Harvard, où on a pu lire : « Harvard hait les Juifs. » À Cornell, les forces de l’ordre et le FBI ont dû protéger les ­étudiants juifs et leurs locaux après de violentes menaces en ligne.

On a pu toucher du doigt l’incapacité de la direction des universités américaines à lutter contre cette vague de haine lors de l’audition ­parlementaire des présidentes de Harvard, Penn (Pennsylvanie) et du MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). À la question : « L’appel au génocide des Juifs viole-t-il le code de conduite de votre université ou les règles concernant l’intimidation ou le harcèlement ? », celles-ci n’ont su répondre que : ça « dépend du contexte ». Les ­présidentes de Penn et de Harvard et ont, depuis, démissionné (lire encadré ci-dessous).

RIPOSTE INSTITUTIONNELLE
En est-on là en France ? Pas encore, et c’est la bonne nouvelle. Parce que, face à la montée de l’antisémitisme dans le monde universitaire, « une riposte institutionnelle vigoureuse a eu lieu », comme en témoigne Samuel Lejoyeux, président de l’UEJF. Sans compter que les facs tricolores sont beaucoup plus dépendantes de leur tutelle ministérielle qu’aux États-Unis. Dès le 9 octobre, la ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, ­Sylvie Retailleau, a donné des consignes très fermes aux présidents d’université. Elle a alerté face aux « manifestations de haine », et incité les chefs d’établissement à prendre « les sanctions disciplinaires et suites judiciaires appropriées, y compris en les signalant au procureur de la République, en application de l’article 40 du Code de procédure pénale ». Elle a également évoqué la possibilité « d’étudier des procédures de dissolutions de toute structure s’engageant dans des “agissements répréhensibles” ».

Comme le rappelle un professeur d’université : « Nous avons un arsenal juridique utile, c’est l’autre force du modèle français par rapport aux États-Unis, où le fétiche de la liberté d’expression empêche la lutte contre les discours de haine. » Et de citer la loi de 1936 ­permettant la dissolution des ligues, renforcée par la loi de 2021 confortant les principes de la République, la loi ­Pleven contre le racisme et l’antisémitisme, la loi Gayssot contre le négationnisme, mais aussi la vénérable loi sur la liberté de la presse, qui, dès 1881, condamnait l’apologie du terrorisme. De fait, les consignes de la ministre ont su mettre la machine en branle.

MARQUER LE COUP
Le professeur d’Assas évoqué plus haut a d’ailleurs été suspendu dès le 10 octobre ; une commission s’est ­réunie à HEC pour examiner les ­propos d’Alberto Alemanno. Par ailleurs, la ministre a reçu l’UEJF dès le 13 octobre et a convoqué les référents « racisme et antisémitisme » dans la foulée. Ces référents sont une autre spécificité qui ­distingue la France des États-Unis. Dans les campus américains, l’administration DEI (diversité, équité et inclusion), pléthorique, est acquise aux thèses décoloniales et intersectionnelles, et donc incapable de mesurer sérieusement la vague antisémite. En France, les référents « racisme et antisémitisme » constituent, selon un haut fonctionnaire de l’Enseignement supérieur, « un réseau encore émergent, créé en réponse à des actes antisémites en 2015 dans les facs, mais plutôt bien orienté et qui peut lutter contre l’immobilisme des administrations ». Ces atouts sur le terrain et les consignes très strictes du ministère ont permis de faire la différence.

Consciente des risques particuliers à Nanterre, Sylvie Retailleau s’est rendue sur place avec le ­préfet des Hauts-de-Seine pour marquer le coup. « Il faut montrer qu’on met les limites », a-t-elle déclaré dans une université où le compte X du NPA Jeunes 92 a été suspendu, et où le NPA est sous le coup d’une enquête pour apologie du terrorisme. Si les autres structures ayant tenu le même discours ne sont pour l’instant pas inquiétées, l’avertissement est clair.

INDIGÉNISME ACADÉMIQUE
La vague tant redoutée a donc été contenue. Mais la tendance indigéniste et décoloniale ne désarme pas au sein de l’université. Si elle ne peut pas être ouvertement antisémite ou négationniste en raison des lois antiracistes, ni soutenir trop ouvertement le Hamas – au risque d’être condamnée pour ­apologie du terrorisme –, elle peut démoniser Israël au travers de l’accusation de « génocide ». Et chercher à obtenir avec ce discours militant marginal une reconnaissance académique.

Didier Fassin, professeur au Collège de France, a ouvert le bal avec une tribune dans le média en ligne AOC. Il y évoque le spectre d’un génocide à Gaza, partant d’une comparaison avec le massacre des Héréros par les colons allemands, habituellement présenté comme une répétition de la Shoah. Un texte qui a heureusement reçu des réponses ! La philosophe Eva Illouz, notamment, a contesté la méthode (une comparaison unique Gaza-Héréros) et l’argumentation (il n’y a en réalité pas d’intention génocidaire chez les Israéliens). Et le philosophe Bruno Karsenti et ses collègues ont insisté sur la perversité d’attribuer à Israël un caractère génocidaire alors que cet État a été construit « pour se prémunir de toute tentative génocidaire ».

Faute de l’emporter sur le terrain des idées, les tenants de la démonisation d’Israël crient à la ­censure dans une tribune publiée par Mediapart et signée par 1 550 universitaires – dont Didier Fassin, Choukri Hmed et les têtes de proue de l’indigénisme académique : François Burgat, Nacira Guénif et Françoise Vergès. Mediapart vient à leur secours avec un article évoquant une « chape de plomb » sur le débat académique à propos du conflit israélo-palestinien. Expression qui fait sourire un universitaire ­chevronné qui préfère garder l’anonymat : « Vu que la thèse du génocide à Gaza est exposée en continu sur toutes les boucles de mails des universités, on ne voit pas bien où est la censure. Ce qu’ils veulent, c’est autre chose : la reconnaissance académique et institutionnelle de la démonisation d’Israël. »

Pour la reconnaissance académique, c’est pas gagné. Pour l’appui institutionnel, en revanche, c’est en cours. À Nanterre, deux motions du conseil d’administration émanant de syndicats d’étudiants et d’enseignants condamnent la « crise de l’humanité » à Gaza, allusion embarrassée à la thèse génocidaire, et s’insurgent contre toute accusation d’antisémitisme, qu’ils présentent comme attentatoire aux « libertés académiques ». En janvier 2024, une nouvelle pétition de 1 000 universitaires, où on retrouve les mêmes (Hmed, Burgat, Guénif, Vergès), parle ouvertement de « génocide ». Une motion similaire a été proposée à la Sorbonne. Bonne surprise, elle a été mise en échec par… l’Unef, qui, séparée des Insoumis, se recentre sur une ligne plus responsable. De quoi espérer ?

Pas sûr, nous confie une jeune chercheuse qui souhaite, aussi, rester anonyme : « Ces gens qui crient à la censure ne risquent pas leur poste. Les universités tiennent encore sur une ligne responsable parce que la génération de professeurs qui les dirigent ne veulent pas d’un embrasement. Mais dans la jeune génération d’enseignants, les tendances anti-israéliennes sont très fortes et la question de l’antisémitisme n’intéresse pas grand monde. » Samuel Lejoyeux, de l’UEJF, abonde : « Ça tient mais jusqu’à quand ? L’air du temps intersectionnel rend la formulation d’un antisionisme radical beaucoup plus facile avec des conséquences antisémites. Il va être de plus en plus difficile d’exprimer une autre opinion. » De fait, aucun ­doctorant ou postdoctorant n’a osé divulguer son identité. Et c’est un signe. Inquiétant.

Franc Tireur : Nabil Ennasri : frère jackpot

Nabil Ennasri : frère jackpot

Frère musulman et lobbyiste du Qatar, le « politologue » se retrouve au cœur d’une enquête explosive sur les ingérences étrangères en France. Suspecté de ­corruption, celui qui a pour modèle Tariq Ramadan est en préventive.

Son rêve ? Devenir le nouveau Tariq Ramadan, marcher sur les pas de l’islamologue vedette des Frères musulmans… Le voici sur le chemin judiciaire et tumultueux de son idole.

Mis en examen le 4 octobre dernier, dans le cadre d’une enquête du Parquet national financier, Nabil Ennasri est en détention provisoire et a choisi le même avocat à la mode que son modèle : Yassine Bouzrou. Seul le motif d’arrestation diffère : « Abus de confiance, ­corruption privée, blanchiment, blanchiment de fraude fiscale aggravée, corruption d’agent public et ­trafic d’influence ». Lavallois d’origine marocaine, la barbe de trois jours bien taillée, l’homme de 41 ans s’était fait une place au soleil sur les plateaux télé, notamment pendant la Coupe du monde de foot au Qatar en 2022. Il troque son maillot de ­supporter pour un casque de vélo l’année suivante, ralliant Paris à La Mecque à bicyclette, pour réaliser son hadj, un des cinq piliers de l’islam.
Illustration : Laura Acquaviva
Mais ce ne sont pas les kilomètres à vélo du politologue-cycliste qui intéressent les enquêteurs, plutôt son réseau et son juteux business. Multiplication d’investissements immobiliers à Dubaï et édification d’un joli patrimoine en France. Sa situation financière se révèle instructive. Plus que ses ­auditions. Muet depuis son arrestation, l’homme refuse de livrer les noms de ses commanditaires. Mais l’ombre de la monarchie qatarienne plane sur son soleil ombragé. Des messages téléphoniques ­laisseraient supposer l’existence de paiements en espèces destinés à corrompre des parlementaires et des journalistes. Ennasri aurait ­lui-même perçu une rémunération mensuelle de 30 000 euros d’une mystérieuse entité désignée par la mention « amb ». Pour Ambre solaire ou ambassadeur ?

Qatar, cash et Coran
La piste d’une diplomatie lucrative orchestrée par le qatarologue pourrait être jugée sérieuse par les enquêteurs. Et rappelle les 35 000 euros mensuels que Tariq Ramadan recevait de Doha pour ses bons et loyaux ­services. En 2013, un article de Libération largement consacré à « Frère Tariq » présentait déjà Nabil Ennasri comme « l’autre relais de la parole qatarie en France ». Le quotidien, qui écrivait encore en 2017 « Tariq Ramadan, versant inoffensif », se montrait moins timoré à l’égard d’Ennasri sous la plume de Willy Le Devin, qui le dépeignait comme « avant tout un Frère musulman, disciple de Youssef al-Qardaoui ».

La référence est aisée à trouver. C’est sur ce cheikh – longtemps prédicateur sur Al-Jazeera, maître à penser du frérisme et l’homme qui a délivré au Hamas l’autorisation religieuse de mener des attentats kamikazes – que le politologue a rédigé sa thèse. Un panégyrique soutenu en 2017. Parmi le jury, acquis à sa cause, figurent deux compagnons de route des Frères musulmans : son directeur de recherche, François Burgat, et le chercheur Vincent Geisser, avec lequel il a signé dans Le Monde, en 2011, un article expliquant qu’« islamiste n’est pas synonyme d’extrémiste ». C’est aussi dans les colonnes du quotidien du soir qu’il a tressé des couronnes d’épines aux adversaires du Qatar, notamment l’Arabie saoudite, en étant présenté comme simple « chercheur » ou « spécialiste ». C’est dire si le parcours ­d’Ennasri révèle un monde où la vigilance a failli.

Tout était pourtant clair. Avant de devenir officiellement « politologue », l’homme a suivi le chemin du parfait Frère musulman, étudiant la théologie musulmane, entre 2008 et 2010, à l’Institut européen des sciences humaines de Château-Chinon, l’école des imams de l’UOIF. Sous un titre faussement critique, L’Énigme du Qatar, il publie en 2013 un livre plein d’amour, préfacé par le « géopolitologue » Pascal Boniface, avec lequel il partage une même passion pour l’émirat.

Tata Farida
À la même époque, les débats sur le mariage pour tous se déchaînent et Ennasri, opposé comme Ramadan à la « banalisation de l’homosexualité », milite contre le projet de loi. Dans une tribune parue sur Oumma.com, Frère Nabil compare le fait d’aimer quelqu’un du même sexe à l’inceste et à la pédophilie. Naturellement, il se rapproche de Farida Belghoul, fer de lance du combat contre les « ABCD de l’égalité » et la « théorie du genre » en compagnie du mouvement catholique intégriste et antisémite Civitas et d’Alain Soral, trait d’union entre cathos tradis et islamistes. Que peuvent avoir en commun tous ces gens ? On se le demande.

Lorsque la loi sur le mariage pour tous passe, le « chercheur » s’étrangle : « Voici ce vers quoi on somme la communauté musulmane de se diriger : une acceptation de l’homosexualité et une validation du discours de légitimation d’Israël. » Cherchez le rapport… Lui, trouve. « Comme dirait François Burgat, il faudrait envisager une loi en France de séparation entre le Crif et l’État », écrit-il. Un Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France qu’il voit partout : derrière l’imam Chalghoumi, la presse ou les Femen. Avec lui, le complot est à chaque coin de rue, même en 2012, lors de l’exécution des enfants de l’école juive de Toulouse par Mohamed Merah. Un « coupable idéal », explique-t-il alors dans un texte ahurissant, retiré depuis du site Ajib.fr. Dans une litanie de « pourquoi » aux accents complotistes, il présente ce « gamin de cité » comme un pantin des services secrets français, ni plus ni moins. Et « pourquoi tout cela arrive un mois avant l’élection présidentielle ? » s’interroge-t-il. Du Mélenchon dans le texte, version intégriste.

Désormais en prison, Ennasri n’a pas pu poster sur le 7 octobre. On imagine sa frustration de ne pouvoir crier son soutien au Hamas et aux martyrs, lui qui s’est si souvent solidarisé avec des salafistes sous le coup d’une procédure pénale. On se rappelle son #PerquisitionnezMoi après ­l’arrestation de l’imam de Brest. Le voilà servi. Le traitement ne semble guère lui convenir : il vient d’entamer une grève de la faim pour dénoncer « unrégime d’exception ». Les prestations carcérales sont, il est vrai, moins confortables que les avantages financiers qu’on tire à répandre la misère islamiste.