The Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye indicated on Sunday that "
about 500 cases
" of attacks on secularism had been recorded in March, figures up from previous months, due according to him to the observation of the Ramadan.
The minister was questioned on France 3 in the program "
Dimanche en politique
" on this barometer listing both the wearing of religious symbols and outfits, verbal provocations, contestation of education, refusal of republican values, community demands in some 59,260 schools, colleges and high schools.
“
The figures (...) show a decrease since the peak in October.
There is always a peak in October linked in particular to the commemoration of
the assassination of Samuel Paty.
And then there is always a rise, each year at the time of Ramadan
, ”he said without providing details on the nature of these attacks on secularism during Ramadan.
Record 720 in October
“
We are at around 500 cases for the month of March
,” said the minister.
“
The month of April, we will have the figures soon, it will drop
”, due to the end of Ramadan, but also the “
spring holidays
”.
Reports for attacks on secularism numbered 720 in October, according to the ministry, with a high proportion of incidents linked to the wearing of religious symbols and outfits.
They dropped to 353 in November (figures almost the same as September: 313).
Read alsoSecularism: the accommodating vision of Pap Ndiaye raises concerns
In addition, when asked about the case of two philosophy teachers suspended for three months from their duties for their repeated and controversial statements on social networks, Pap Ndiaye declared that the remarks of these two teachers had come out of the "right of
expression
".
There, “
we are talking about outrageous, conspiratorial, insulting remarks of very great violence
”, he said, reading aloud the words of one of the two professors.
“
We guarantee the right of free expression, but this type of remark does not enter into the right of free expression
”, he hammered.
