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Latest developments
The brutal murder of a teacher shook France. The table of the processes and antecedents is completed. The government seeks answers to radicalization and Islamist terror.
Commemorative march in honor of Samuel Paty in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on October 21.
The latest developments
- In the dispute over the cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, several Arab countries have initiated a boycott against France. Merchants from Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar brought French goods out of their stores. At the same time, there was growing concern about the deterioration of relations between the Muslim world and France. The background is statements by French President Emmanuel Macron. He sided with those who want to show or publish cartoons of Muhammad.
- After the brutal murder of a teacher, France wants to help teachers talk to students about the crime. Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told the Sunday newspaper “Journal Du Dimanche” on Sunday (October 25) that there would be “clear guidelines” on how what happened after the holidays happened.
- After a verbal attack by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against French head of state Emmanuel Macron, France called its ambassador in Ankara for consultations. Erdogan had criticized on Saturday (October 25) at a congress of his AKP party in Kayseri, central Anatolia, against “worrying signs of growing Islamophobia in Europe.” As an example, he cited Macron, among others, who declared war on radical Islamism in France after the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty a week ago. “What kind of problem does this person named Macron have with Islam and Muslims?” Erdogan asked. Macron should be in psychological treatment, the Turkish president added. His French counterpart does not understand freedom of belief. The Elysee Palace announced that France does not engage in useless discussions and does not accept insults. The Turkish president is asked to change the course of his dangerous policy.
- According to media reports, several people in France have been convicted of approving statements about the crime. In Besançon, in eastern France, a 19-year-old biology student was sentenced to a four-month suspended sentence for the so-called defense of terrorism, as reported on Friday night (October 23) by the local newspaper “L ‘ Est Républicain “. The woman had commented on the newspaper’s Facebook page under an article that Samuel Paty had “deserved” to die. The student was sentenced in a speedy trial. He also had to complete a six-month internship to learn more about core values in France, according to the report. According to the media, an Amiens inmate was also sentenced to an eight-month extension of his sentence for having made positive comments about the crime.
On Friday October 16, teacher Samuel Paty was killed and beheaded on the way home on the street. The police shoot the attacker a little later. He is an 18-year-old Russian of Chechen origin who was a refugee in France.
The brutal execution took place in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a suburb about 30 kilometers northwest of Paris. Investigations by the anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office revealed the following: It was caused by a class on freedom of expression that Paty had given ten days before. The 47-year-old history and geography professor showed cartoons of Muhammad from the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo.” The process caused a stir among some parents, which quickly spread to social media.
One father was particularly fierce against Paty. He claimed that the teacher asked the Muslim faith students to leave the class before showing the cartoons. Paty did not agree with this account. He just pointed out that the pictures could be hurtful and allowed all the students to look away, he said.
The father filed a complaint for spreading pornography and posted several videos on the Internet. In it, he falsely claimed that his daughter had been shocked by the teacher’s actions; in fact, the girl was reported to be ill on the day in question and was not present. The father gave Paty’s name and the school address in the videos. He complained to the school management, accompanied by an Islamist threat that the security authorities had known about for years.
The 18-year-old attacker, who lived in Evreux, about 90 kilometers from the crime scene, probably knew his victim through his father’s videos. He also got in touch with him. On October 16, he waited in front of the university and paid two students several hundred euros to show him Samuel Paty. He wanted to force him to apologize, humiliate him, beat him and film, the attacker told the young man. Both of them, like the agitated father, will have to answer in court. The French judiciary has launched investigations against seven suspects.
After the brutal assassination, the French government promised “very quick” and “concrete” measures. President Emmanuel Macron promised that fear in the country would change fields. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced, among other things, that radicalized people would be deported without a residence permit, although this would require the consent of their countries of origin.
French President Emmanuel Macron walks away from the coffin of the teacher who was murdered at Samuel Paty’s funeral.
Darmanin wants to keep a close eye on clubs, schools and places of worship in the future. The authorities dissolved the pro-Palestinian collective Cheikh Yassine. It was founded by Islamist Abdelhakim Sefrioui, long known to security authorities, the man who had accompanied the angry father to the school administration. A mosque in the Paris suburb of Pantin that had redistributed a video of the father was closed for six months. In addition, the government wants to take stronger measures against hate messages on the Internet. A law against radical Islamism, planned for some time, will also receive additional provisions.
Thousands of people gathered at the Place de la République in Paris after the murder in memory of Paty. Many representatives of the Muslim community and the Central Council of Muslims of France clearly condemned the attack. A group of imams went to the crime scene in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine to commemorate the victim. A national memorial service was also held five days after the murder. President Emmanuel Macron posthumously awarded the 47-year-old the title of Legion of Honor.
Mourning for the murdered teacher Samuel Paty.
For years, France has witnessed attacks motivated by Islamists time and time again. In total, more than 250 people have died from Islamist terrorism since 2015. According to the Interior Minister, 61 attacks have been prevented since 2013. Just over 8,000 people are currently being monitored by the national secret service for possible terrorist activities. .
Various events in recent weeks have once again made the French aware of the threat. Since September, the trial of the alleged assistants in the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in January 2015 has been carried out. On that occasion, the satirical magazine reprinted its cartoons of Muhammad. The attackers used this as an excuse for their bloody act. After the reissue, Charlie Hebdo received new threats.
At the end of September, a Pakistani man attacked two people with a butcher ax in front of the old editorial building of the satirical magazine, seriously injuring them. He then claimed that the reissue of the cartoons had prompted him to act. He thought the editorial office for “Charlie Hebdo” was still in the same place. The man was previously unknown to the secret services. About three weeks later, Samuel Paty, who had shown the cartoons in class, was assassinated.
The attack in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine also drew attention to a problem that it seems that sectors of the French teaching staff have faced for a long time: in the following days, several teachers told the French media how they addressed certain topics, often related with the Muslim Religion, omitted in class, for fear of the reactions of students and parents. Former school inspector Jean-Pierre Obin said recently that he had already drawn attention to the growing influence of Islamist ideologies in schools in 2004.
Commemoration of the murdered teacher Samuel Paty.
The narratives dovetail with a development recently pointed out by French authorities, which President Macron, in its extreme form, describes as “Islamist separatism.” It is about the attitude of radical Islamist groups that establish parallel societies and put their own values before those of the republic. Earlier this year, sociologist Bernard Rougier described how Islamists had controlled various neighborhoods in France for decades. They are a small minority of Muslims in the country, but in some communities they manage to dominate religious life. The affected districts are often neighborhoods in which the state has allowed social and economic problems to focus for decades.
In early October, Macron presented a strategy with which he wants to eliminate the breeding ground of radical Islam. Education plays a central role in this. Imams will be trained in France and not abroad, and Arabic lessons will be expanded in state institutions; Today, children often learn the language in mosques or cultural associations. Additionally, from the 2021/22 school year onwards, children are only required to be absent from state classes in exceptional cases and receive instruction at home. The corresponding legal text is expected to be presented in early December.
