Le Figaro Marseille
Is this the straw that breaks the camel's back? Last Friday in the early evening and as the doors of the André Allar school were preparing to close for the weekend, a person working in the establishment was injured in the head, victim of a projectile thrown from one of the buildings that surround this nursery and primary school in the 15th arrondissement of Marseille.
As revealed by La Provence and confirmed to Le Figaro by corroborating sources, it was a 33-year-old woman, a member of the school's staff, who received the projectiles, which are said to be similar to "large screws". Evacuated conscious to hospital, she was taken care of by the Marseille fire brigade and is now out of danger. "This person, who had already been spat on in the presence of municipal officials, was hit by a projectile as he was leaving kindergarten," said a parent who wished to remain anonymous.
The André Allar school, its staff and its 195 students have been the target of objects thrown at them for many months: banana peels, diapers, excrement or even a real sword have been found in the school's playground, sometimes a few centimetres from some children. The perpetrators of these throws, clearly identified by the students' parents and targeted by a police investigation, live in buildings surrounding the school and whose apartments overlook the courtyard.
The throwing of projectiles has intensified since the media coverage of the case
The motivations of these people, most of whom are undocumented migrants rehoused by associations, are not clearly identified. At the end of December, a parent told Le Figaro that the throwers were probably bothered by the noises made by the children during breaks between classes. "It's nonsense: the school was already there when they moved in. All they have to do is leave!" said Jacqueline Tahir, parent delegate and mother of two children in CE1 and CM1. Since the media coverage of the case, the jets have not stopped. Worse, they have even intensified according to the parents of students, some of whom are reluctant to send their children back to school. "Before, the jets came from two buildings on rue André Allar. Now, tenants in a third building have started doing it," said an anonymous mother. "It looks like they're forming an alliance to provoke us. They see that they can continue and they have a great time," said a parent of a student who was mobilized in front of the school on Monday.
Several consultation meetings were organised between parents, the school management and the town hall of Marseille. At the end of one of them, the idea of installing a camera and even a protective net above the school's playground was even mentioned. However, according to the students' parents, these projects have still not come to fruition. "We have no communication from the town hall, nor from the national education services nor from the social landlords (who own the apartments in which the projectile throwers live)," they argue. The social landlords, aware of the situation and already put on notice by the city of Marseille, are ready to "sanction the perpetrators of the facts" according to the parents of the students. It remains to identify these individuals, who have continued to act with impunity for many months.
Things are starting to heat up on the parents' side, some are talking about taking the law into their own hands. If we don't get a solution now, I'm afraid for the future...
An anonymous student's parent
When contacted, Marseille's city hall told Le Figaro that the police investigation to identify the suspects was still ongoing. "The city of Marseille has mobilized the municipal police to secure the entrance and exit of the school," adding that patrols had been reinforced in the neighborhood. Except that these patrols are mainly present around 8:30 a.m. and 16:30 p.m. "This does not solve the problem, the projectiles are thrown inside the school and not in front of the gate. These people would have to be caught red-handed. Apart from these agents, nothing has been put in place: we are being taken for a ride and there is no communication. Why is nothing in place to protect our children?" said a parent.
A new information meeting is expected to take place this Thursday at the end of the afternoon in the presence of representatives of the town hall and social landlords. This rally, more than expected by the parents of the students, is for many the mobilization of the last chance before escalation. "Things are starting to heat up on the parents' side, some are talking about taking the law into their own hands. If we don't get a solution now, I'm afraid for the future," says the student's parent.