The university said around 100 students and six lecturers were exposed to "explicitly racist remarks and Nazi apologia" during the course.
The Sorbonne University in Paris has referred a case to prosecutors after antisemitic and other hateful remarks appeared on screen during a health faculty lecture last week.
During an interactive session on specialist general medicine, students used the Wooclap teaching tool to display hate messages including the words "Hitler," "Jews" and a Nazi swastika symbol on the lecture hall screen.
"Apart from the apology for Nazism which they will say is humour, there is something for everyone: Jews, blacks, Muslims, Kurds, women," trade union activist Manès Nadel wrote on X.
The university said around 100 students and six lecturers were exposed to "explicitly racist remarks and Nazi apologia" during the course.
The lecture was suspended and the theatre evacuated. Support has been provided to affected teachers and teaching staff, while the general medicine department has established a psychological unit for students who need it. The school's secularism, anti-racism and antisemitism officer has also been contacted.
"The school reiterates its unwavering commitment to the fight against antisemitism, racism and all forms of discrimination," the university said.
Latest in series of incidents
The incident is the latest in a series at French universities this autumn.
In early October, the Sorbonne referred the matter to prosecutors after the Comité Action Paris 3 described 7 October — the day of Hamas' attack on Israeli communities and a music festival — as a "glorious day" on X.
On 15 October at the University of Paris VIII, nearly 200 students participated in an event where terrorism was openly praised and the 7 October massacres were glorified, according to Senator Pierre-Antoine Levi. When participants were asked "Do you condemn 7 October?" the collective answer was "no."
In September, university rectors and presidents were summoned by then-higher education minister Philippe Baptiste following "very serious, insulting and anti-Semitic comments published on student WhatsApp and Instagram groups."
At Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Jewish students were excluded from an Instagram group by a fellow student "because of their alleged Zionism" or "alleged religious affiliation," based solely on their names.
The Sorbonne acknowledged in September the current context "in which antisemitic acts are on the increase in academic circles."
Survey contested
In July, parliament adopted legislation to combat antisemitism in higher education, providing for awareness-raising measures and disciplinary sanctions. Each institution must now appoint a dedicated contact person.
However, a survey on antisemitism in universities commissioned by the Ministry of Higher Education from polling firm IFOP has faced criticism, with some denouncing it as a political "census".
The France Universités association said the IFOP questionnaire "poses a number of problems in terms of its design and the questions asked." In a letter on Monday, the group informed the ministry it would not endorse the survey.
Some questions raised concerns in the university community "including among the administrative and legal managers of the institutions regarding compliance with the GDPR (data protection regulation) and the neutrality of the state," France Universités said.
The Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (Human Rights League) issued a statement calling on unions to "reject the project for a national survey on antisemitism in higher education and research," stating that "examination of both the survey methodology and the planned questionnaire seems to involve serious dangers."
France is home to Western Europe's largest Jewish population, with an estimated 500,000 Jews — approximately 1% of the national population.
In recent years, antisemitic incidents have surged in France, with a sharp increase reported in 2023 after Hamas-led militants' 7 October attack and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
These include physical assaults, threats, vandalism and harassment, prompting alarm among Jewish communities and leaders.