Schoolchildren, college and high school students were invited on Friday to pay tribute in all schools to Samuel Paty, a teacher assassinated a year ago, with, depending on the choice of the teaching teams, minutes of silence, debates or screenings of documentaries on secularism.
This Friday, October 15, staff and students of schools, colleges and high schools pay tribute to Samuel Paty, professor of history, geography and moral and civic education, assassinated for having taught and defended the values of the Republic including the freedom of expression.
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- Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports (@education_gouv) October 15, 2021
If Jean-Michel Blanquer on RTL welcomed this "commemoration which took place in great calm, serenity and dignity", he acknowledged some incidents.
"We have identified 98 of them. It is much less than what there was when there were attacks previously", he added.
"The best tribute we can pay to Samuel Paty is unity, dignity and that's what we had yesterday in the French school system," he insisted.
According to him, these incidents were "very variable" with interruptions of minutes of silence, insults or more serious threats.
“Seven cases of threats, individual or collective” have been identified and “will be subject to the most severe penalties”.
The families should be summoned and an investigation will be opened to "see what is behind these remarks", specified the minister.
He had warned, as of Thursday, that in the event of disturbances during the tributes the authors concerned would be "sanctioned".
At the end of the morning this Saturday, a commemorative plaque to Samuel Paty, the professor of history and geography assassinated a year ago must be unveiled at the entrance of the Ministry of National Education with these words: "" Homage to Samuel Paty .
Professor of history, geography and moral and civic education, assassinated on October 16, 2020 for teaching and defending the values of the Republic including freedom of expression.
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Tribute to Samuel Paty
Professor of history - geography and moral and civic education, assassinated on October 16, 2020 for teaching and defending the values of the Republic including freedom of expression pic.twitter.com/ypwbfQu44g
- Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports (@education_gouv) October 16, 2021
The Minister also returned to the situation of teachers faced with questions of secularism: “They are not sufficiently trained to tackle these subjects.
Before, secularism was something explicit and shared by everyone.
Perhaps we haven't talked enough about it.
There is a slope to go up, and I consider that we are at the beginning of this slope ”, he concluded.
