Cold, palpable anger.
Several thousand people gathered throughout France on Sunday to pay tribute to Samuel Paty, the history teacher beheaded Friday in the Yvelines, and to express their exasperation at the barbarism.
In Paris, Prime Minister Jean Castex, Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, President of the Île-de-France region Valérie Pécresse or even the leader of the Insoumis Jean-Luc Mélenchon, notably participated in a rally at Place de la République.
The bosses of La République en Marche, Stanislas Guerini, of the PS, Olivier Faure, and of Europe-Écologie-Les Verts, Julien Bayou, were also on site.
Just like EELV MEP Yannick Jadot.
Read also:
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But the climate was not for national unity.
LR officials thus refused to participate in this rally.
“There have been too many attacks without real retaliation.
Too many steps followed by too many setbacks.
Too many tributes without courage ”
, for example tweeted the boss of senators LR, Bruno Retailleau.
On the side of the National Rally, the leaders are rather
"in political action, working on something more concrete and are a little fed up with the candle policy,"
said the party.
I am very shocked.
There was Charlie, the Hyper Cacher, the Bataclan, the slain priest, the police… That's enough!
Now we need firmness!
In the capital, the crowd was very compact and a few French flags were visible in the ranks.
Many demonstrators have expressed their outrage after the assassination of Samuel Paty.
“I am very shocked.
There was
Charlie
, the Hyper Cacher, the Bataclan, the slain priest, the police… That's enough!
Now we need firmness! ”
, explained for example Simone, 73, a retired teacher, with a sign proclaiming
"Zero tolerance for all enemies of the Republic"
.
A little further on, Alexandre, 23, had decided to come and demonstrate with the front page of
Charlie Hebdo
republished five years after the January 2015 attacks.
“It's a symbol.
You have to be strong in showing these cartoons and republishing them, ”
said the student.
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Some French Muslims also wanted to make their voices heard.
Like Latifa, a 46-year-old flight attendant, who came with her grandnephew.
“I'm here to express my disgust.
I was already there in 2015. This barbaric act does not represent my religion, ”
she explained.
Among the demonstrators, who chained the minutes of applause, many slogans summarized the state of mind of the crowd.
"Samuel assassinated, thousands of teachers still standing"
,
"It is dark in the land of the Lights"
or quite simply
"I am Samuel Paty"
, could one read on the signs.
Other slogans were more offensive.
“No to the crooks of Islamophobia”
or
“We are in France!
Not in Kabul! ”
, cried several messages.
On the spot, some demonstrators said they were particularly worried about the future of the country.
“I want my children and my grandchildren to live normally, like us.
Those who come to France must respect our rules and our way of life, ”
said Alberte, 84, who came with a French flag in his hand.
“They want to take away our freedom of expression.
Some people try to impose their rules on us and do not agree with our way of life ”
, abounded her friend Marie-Louise, 73, fearing that the situation
“ degenerates into civil war ”
.
Before, we could say more things.
I came because I don't want our freedom to think to be taken by others.
I don't know what world we're going to leave for our children.
Véronique, 56 years old
A few meters away, Véronique, 56, was also very worried.
“Before, we could say more things.
I came because I don't want our freedom to think to be taken by others.
I don't know what kind of world we're going to leave our children, ”
wondered this mother from the Parisian suburbs.
Before continuing:
"We must be able to express ourselves and debate in our country without being accused of racism."
Others refused to join the rally.
"I will not march alongside those who hold the door to the ideology of the assassins,
for example explained the essayist Celine Pina.
I will not parade with the FCPE, which has defended the wearing of the veil, therefore the humiliation and inferiorization of women, even though this sign (…) is a marker of the Islamists.
(…) I will not march alongside the LDH, a major player in legitimation in its time of Tariq Ramadan. ”
Gatherings were also held elsewhere in France on Sunday.
In Lyon, 6,000 people gathered at Place Bellecour, opposite the statue of the Stone Man, symbol of the Resistance.
Some demonstrators wore an
“I am a teacher”
sticker
on the lapel of their jacket or a rose in their hand.
In Bordeaux, the Place de la Bourse filled up shortly after 3 p.m. to pay tribute to the murdered professor.
On the Toulouse side, some 5,000 people, according to the FSU teachers' union, gathered at the Place du Capitole.
In Marseille, around 1,000 people marched in the streets of the city before dispersing in front of the prefecture.
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There were also gatherings in Lille, Strasbourg, Nice, Bastia, Grenoble and even Nantes.
In Rouen, the Interfaith Committee laid a wreath in tribute to Samuel Paty in front of the stele erected in memory of Father Jacques Hamel, assassinated in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray.
Its members then observed a minute of silence.
A national tribute will be paid Wednesday to Samuel Paty, in coordination with his family, announced the Elysee on Saturday, without yet specifying the location.
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