Teachers strike amid safety fears as 'Muslim children and parents angry over nude painting at French school'
12 December 2023, 06:54
Teachers at a school near Paris have gone on strike amid fears for their lives after an outcry over one of their colleagues showing Muslim students a nude painting.
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Staff at a school in the town of Issou are afraid for their safety in a period of heightened tension in schools after two teachers were murdered by Islamist terrorists.
Samuel Paty was beheaded in 2020, in a town just 12 miles from Issou.
Dominique Bernard was stabbed to death by a Muslim man in the playground of his school in Arras, north-west France, two months ago.
At the Issou school, a female French teacher sparked an angry debate after showing pupils a 17th century picture of Diana and Actaeon that features nude female figures, which is typical for that style and period of painting.
Some Muslim children in the class turned away, saying their religion meant they couldn't look at pictures depicting nude figures.
Untrue rumours then spread that the teacher had insulted Muslims and made racist remarks.
Parents complained to the school about the teacher, and her name was published online alongside false rumours.
Staff walked out in response, and the French education ministry sent officials to the school.
The teachers union SNES said that the atmosphere in the school was similar to the situation around Mr Paty, when claims about the civics teacher circulated on social media before his murder by an 18-year-old Chechen refugee.
Sophie Vénétitay, the union head, told BFMTV news: "We know well that methods like that can lead to a tragedy.
"We saw it in the murder of Samuel Paty. Our colleagues feel threatened and in danger."
The teachers said the students had admitted making things up, but that it was too late. "We’re dealing with vindictive parents who prefer to believe their children than us," they said.
Teachers at the school said discipline was deteriorating anyway before the row, with fights and threats of rape among students.
One said: "We feel we are clearly in danger. We are supported by our direct superiors but not from higher up," the Times reported. "This is a real call for help".
It comes after six teenagers were found guilty in connection with the beheading of Mr Paty, who was accused of showing his students a cartoon image of the prophet Mohammed.
Five of the six teenagers on trial, aged between 14 and 15 at the time, stood accused of identifying the teacher to the attacker and helping monitor his exit from school.
Another defendant, 13 at the time, was found guilty of lying about the classroom debate.
She told her parents that Mr Paty had asked Muslim pupils to leave the class before showing the images, but it later emerged that she was not in the class and went on to tell investigators she had lied.
The attacker himself, Abdullah Anzorov, was shot dead by police soon after the incident.
