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The sea of people on the Place de la République in Paris is so great that it flows into the side streets. In one of them is the retired Didier, holding the famous French satirical magazine.
“All this, for this,” reads the headline on the front page, along with the controversial cartoons of Muhammad that the terrorists cited as the reason for the attack on the newspaper in January 2015 and which apparently was also the reason for the brutal murder of the professor of Samuel Paty story on Friday.
– First was the attempted murder of Charlie Hebdo. Now teachers in schools are threatened and killed for teaching what freedom of expression means. I am here to show that I defend freedom, says Didier, who does not want to give his last name “for security reasons.”
In dozens of cities in France, people demonstrated against the murder. Several famous French politicians and personalities were present in Paris, to show their dislike for the event and to support the country’s teachers.
– In the future, we must have a system that allows us to avoid a drama like this. All teachers in France should be supported when situations like this arise, said Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer.
Exactly what that means It remains to be seen, but over the weekend, demands have been made in France for better protection for teachers who are threatened and harassed.
In early October, Samuel Paty, 47, showed some of Charlie Hebdo’s controversial Muhammad cartoons to a class of 13- and 14-year-old students at a school in the Parisian suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. The idea should not have been to offend students of Muslim origin, but rather that the images should form the basis of a critical discussion on freedom of expression. Students who thought they might be offended were given permission to leave the classroom early.
Some students and their parents still reacted strongly. A parent contacted the principal and posted a video on social media demanding that the teacher be fired. The conflict quickly spread beyond the small suburb.
But it is one thing to have different opinions about a pedagogical method and another is to resort to violence.
This Friday at 5 pm Samuel Paty was suddenly attacked in the open air. The perpetrator was a Moscow-born 18-year-old man of Chechen origin, living in a city ten miles from the crime scene. There are many indications that he had heard of the conflict through social media.
Minutes after the murder, the killer posted on Twitter a photo of the teacher’s severed head. Next to it was the text: “Macron, leader of the infidels, I have executed one of your hellhounds, who has dared to disparage Muhammad.”
The police are investigating the incident as a terrorist crime, and the big question is whether or not the killer acted alone. So far, eleven people have been arrested, suspected of having known or possibly encouraged his plans.
“It feels good that there are so many people here. It shows unity,” says Vera, 50, who lives with her husband Jean-Pierre in a Paris suburb.
Photo: Erik de la Reguera
– This kind of thing just shouldn’t happen. In our family, we are Orthodox Christians, but we have married relatives and friends who are Muslim, and they are just as shocked as we are. It’s good that there are so many people here today, despite the covid-19 pandemic. It shows unity, says Vera, 50, who went to central Paris with her husband Jean-Pierre.
French authorities gave Special permission for Sunday’s demonstrations, despite the fact that the corona epidemic is at a critical stage in the country and a night curfew has been imposed in Paris and eight other cities. Many thought twice before deciding to leave.
In the crowd, DN met 52-year-old singer Laurya Lamy in a red mask and jacket.
Laurya Lamy.
Photo: Erik de la Reguera
– I really want to show my support to the teachers. They are at the forefront when they convey our core values. Above all, freedom of expression and the separation between state and religion. We have fought hard for this, historically speaking, and that is why it is so important that all French people, regardless of their religion and ethnicity, now come together and defend these freedoms, Laurya Lamy said.
Read more: Erik de la Reguera: No institution has as much symbolic load as the school in France
