“If you attack a teacher, you attack the republic”

The second corona wave is in full swing in France and the country has been hit hard by the pandemic. The highest level of corona warning applies in Paris, where gatherings of more than 1,000 people are prohibited. However, on Sunday there was a large crowd at the Place de la République. The authorities approved the rally. At 3 pm sharp, people clapped for minutes to remember the murdered Samuel Paty and to demonstrate for freedom of expression.

The 47-year-old history professor was brutally beheaded on Friday for alleged terrorist motives. Investigators believe Paty was killed by an 18-year-old for showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in class. Prosecutor Jean-François Ricard described the weekend that the teacher wanted to teach his students about freedom of expression in early October. The reason was the discussion about the reissue of cartoons of Muhammad in the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo”.

Against the horror, the mobilization: tens of thousands of people gathered today throughout France in honor of Professor Samuel Paty, who was beheaded on Friday
📷@AFPphoto in Paris, Lille, Toulouse and Marseille #AFPpic.twitter.com/CztQMaQqUM

?? Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) October 18, 2020

The offender, who was born in Moscow in 2002 according to the prosecution and has Russian-Chechen roots, was shot by the police shortly after the crime. He previously posted a photo of the victim and wrote that he had looked down on the prophet. Eleven people were arrested, including the father of a schoolgirl who had rallied online against the teacher.

Here to defend freedom of expression

“I am here to defend freedom of expression, freedom of education,” said Muriel, 61, at the demonstration in Paris. She is a teacher, but also a citizen. In her hand she holds a sign that says “Je suis enseignante”, in German: “I’m a teacher.” Like many others, this reminded him of the slogan “Je suis Charlie”. It shaped the days after the devastating murder attack on the editorial team of “Charlie Hebdo” in 2015. The satirical newspaper had joined the call for a demonstration in Paris.

A young man named Valentin holds up a poster with Muhammad cartoons in the satirical magazine. “If you attack a teacher, you attack the republic,” he says. The Place de la République in eastern Paris is a symbolic place: already after the horror series in January 2015, which also included the attack on “Charlie Hebdo”, people from all over France commemorated the victims there. Since then, the square has become a central place of sympathy after the terrorist attacks.

Prime Minister Jean Castex was also present at the Paris rally. “You don’t scare us. We’re not scared,” he later wrote. In other cities, including Marseille and Bordeaux, numerous people also took to the streets.

National commemoration Wednesday

On Wednesday, France wants to remember the brutally murdered teacher with a national memorial service. The Islamic community also responded to the act. Nothing justifies the murder of a person, said the Islamic umbrella organization French Council of Muslim Cults. For years, France has been hit by a wave of Islamist terrorism that has killed more than 250 people so far.

Just a few weeks ago, a man attacked two people with a knife in front of the former “Charlie Hebdo” editorial building. He also gave the reason for the cartoons of Muhammad that the magazine had published. The attacker was actually targeting the editorial office, but did not know that in the meantime he had moved to a secret location.

The expulsion of 231 extremists is planned

France is now reportedly preparing to expel 231 suspected extremists. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has called on local authorities to order the expulsions, police union circles said on Sunday. Of the 231 people, 180 are in prison, 51 should be arrested in the next few hours. Initially, no confirmation was received from the Ministry of the Interior. (apa, dpa, reuters)