On November 2 in their high school, they all participated in the minute of silence organized in tribute to Samuel Paty, the teacher beheaded on October 16 in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines).
Six months later and without counting the minutes, it is noise that they came to make in Créteil in front of the rectorate building.
This Thursday, 50 to 80 people supported at the time of his summons to the rectorate, Lahcène, a teacher from the Jacques-Brel vocational school in Choisy-le-Roi.
A "disciplinary" interview, for his colleagues in high school.
A "consultation of its administrative file", corrects the rectorate.
The case takes its source on November 2, the day of the national tribute to Samuel Paty.
As the start of the school year approaches, the members of the educational community of the Jacques-Brel high school "welcome the announcement of a consultation meeting" which must be held between 8 am and 10 am, to prepare the tribute.
But on Friday evening, back-pedaling: the Minister of National Education announces that the return to school on Monday will be maintained at the usual schedule.
VIDEO.
On November 2, 2020, schools paid tribute to Samuel Paty
At Jacques-Brel high school in Choisy-le-Roi, teachers express to their management the wish to maintain this preparatory meeting.
“Faced with his refusal, we decided to organize it under cover of strike notices filed by most unions, because it seemed necessary to us,” they detail.
And according to their story things are not going very well in high school.
"We needed to talk about all this between us and that created a tension", relates Marc Isidori, professor of letters and history-geography.
"We were within our rights"
"We felt totally legitimate because it had been said that the teachers could meet if they wished," abounds this other teacher from Jacques-Brel high school, one of the three summoned, who will be the first to chant "freedom of 'expression', at the microphone.
"This meeting was to deactivate a bomb", sums up this former establishment, who came in "solidarity".
“Some teachers still remembered Charlie's attacks,” she explains.
These are moments that require discussion before, between teachers.
What happened is unfair, and it must not happen again.
"
According to Marc Isidori's account, the management of the establishment tried that morning to "prevent" them from meeting.
"We were within our rights, covered by strike notices filed by all the National Education unions," recalls the teacher.
He recognizes exchanges of "harsh" words, but expected "that we will move on".
It is in this way that he says to have interpreted the coming to the school of two people "sent by the rectorate", after what had happened.
Three of these teachers were then "summoned" to the rectorate on December 1.
"In any case, freedom of union expression is not called into question", assures the rectorate
"The only fault of our colleagues is to have expressed a disagreement with their hierarchical superior who tried to prevent them from preparing the tribute to Samuel Paty, murdered for having given a course on freedom of expression" , explain the members of the school's educational community.
All three are also members of the CGT, a union that came into force on Thursday, among other organizations.
"We are following this case very, very closely", explained at the microphone, Benjamin Amar, one of his figures.
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Asked, the rectorate insists that "the teacher concerned was not summoned today for a disciplinary interview but for consultation of his administrative file".
On the merits, he said, he is not authorized to speak "on the details of the individual administrative file of a public official".
Simply indicating that the "current procedure" applies "in strict compliance with the administrative and legal rules in force" and that "in any case, freedom of trade union expression can not be called into question".