Thus, French philosophers Félix Guattari and Gilles Deleuze signed in November 1977 "L'Appel des intellectuels français contre la répression en Italie" (The Call of French Intellectuals Against Repression in Italy) in protest against Negri's imprisonment and Italian anti-terrorism legislation.
V tem času je Negri, politično znanstveni profesor na Padovski univerzi, obiskoval predavatelje pariške École Normale Supérieure.