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The wave step is over," National Education Minister Gabriel Attal told the National Assembly on Tuesday. Before adding: "At some point, tolerance is fine! Kindness is fine!" The tenant of the Rue de Grenelle wanted to bang his fist on the table while there have been nearly 357 incidents to date recorded during the tributes to Dominique Bernard and Samuel Paty, two teachers murdered by Islamist terrorists in the exercise of their duties.
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In addition to the "179 referrals to the public prosecutor" announced during an initial assessment on Tuesday, the minister asked for an "immediate exclusion" for the 68 most serious cases - including apology for terrorism. And this, without waiting for the convening of the disciplinary council. Explanations.
Precautionary measure
In order to definitively exclude a pupil from a school, the pupil must go before a disciplinary council. A committee is then set up, composed of the head of the school, his deputy, the principal education adviser and several elected staff, such as those from the board of directors. After the facts have been set out and the debates have been held, the chairman of the council proposes a sanction, such as expulsion, which must be put to a vote.
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What the minister is asking for is therefore a precautionary measure," explains Jean-Rémi Girard, president of the National Union of High Schools and Colleges. In concrete terms, while waiting for his disciplinary council, the student will be immediately excluded after the fault of which he is accused, explains the Ministry of National Education to Le Figaro. The exclusion will therefore only be temporary and suspended until the final decision of the council, which "will remain entirely decisive".
For the teachers' unions, "the message sent is positive". "We need a national awareness, it's a social issue that we have declined for too long," says Norman Gourrier, general secretary of the National Union of Middle and High Schools (SNCL). Especially since an immediate measure "will have a strong impact on the person concerned", the trade unionist continues.
Read also"Ignorance worried him": Dominique Bernard's last conversation, a few minutes before he died in the Arras attack
Schools' powerlessness in the face of radicalisation
But if these serious facts do indeed deserve to be excluded, "we must nevertheless get out of the hot potato phenomenon," tempers Jean-Rémi Girard. "A radicalised pupil will be no less so in another school," he continues, insisting on "the feeling of powerlessness of the educational staff" in the face of individuals making extreme or threatening remarks. Or in the face of the potential danger that these individuals represent for the entire establishment.
Thus, in the rare cases of "very serious radicalisation, the educational response of the school is probably insufficient", deplores the trade unionist. In addition to exclusion, there must be "a real follow-up of the judicial component," says Jean-Rémi Girard. The school is only one of the authorities among all the authorities in a student's life, he insists.
The unions are also said to be leaning towards exceptional care for these 68 individuals "who make serious remarks or who may suggest radicalisation". "We could imagine more secure structures, with more individual care," says Jean-Rémi Girard, because the national education system "very clearly lacks an alternative to schooling in an ordinary environment." "We would almost have to invent a structure to support" these students, who are few in number, suggests Norman Gourrier. "This would be an opportunity to set up an exceptional system," for a major problem.